Kingdom Hearts: Race to the Keyhole
by keybledar43
Summary: Their world filled with darkness and death. Six teens must now travel the world to find the legendary Keyhole, their only chance to return everything back to normal. Rated M for drug use, language and violence. Sokai with other secret pairings.
1. Fleeting Memories

**This is my new Kingdom Hearts story. I had this idea in my head for a while and really wanted to write it. Now a few things before we begin:**

**This will be the first time I write a story with drug use and it's a lot darker than what I usually write but I wanted to give it a try. I haven't written anything dark and I wanted to try my hand at it. ****This story will have characters be OCC since it's an AU, but it will show instances of them acting like they usually do.**

**There will be keyblades on this story but they won't be shown until late in the story, meaning that they won't have any superhuman abilities for a while. **

**Remember that this fic is rated M for drug use, language and violence. If you are offended by any of this then don't read. **

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts<strong>

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><p><strong>Kingdom Hearts: Race to the Keyhole<strong>

**Ch.1 Fleeting Memories**

_The sun shone on a small island. Sounds of laughter filled the island and many kids played in the sand, some volleyball while others used wooden swords to fight each other. Other kids preferred to swim on the cold water of the shore with adults sitting on the sand in order to watch them. This particular island was well-known for its family environment, the perfect place for a family to have healthy fun. _

_A small kid with spiky brown hair ran through the sand with a smile on his face, panting lightly as he glanced over his shoulder. Two other children followed after him, one was a boy with silver hair and the other a girl with short auburn hair. All held smiles on their faces as they played around the island. _

_Soon the three children sat on the sand, panting from their chase around the shore. They smiled at each other, there was nothing like playing with friends in the island. It felt like a second home to them and held many places to play, like an amusement park, only better. The brunette smiled at his friends before closing his eyes and resting against the sand, enjoying the feeling of the sun against his skin. _

_The air suddenly grew cold, almost freezing his skin, and the light of the sun disappeared, only leaving darkness. The boy opened his eyes to see his friends gone, no more sound on the island, the sky now covered in pure black clouds and the ocean completely still. He let out a whimper as he tried to stand but found that he couldn't, an invisible force pushing against him. _

_His blue-eyes widened as a dark smoke filled the area, the warm sand he rested on turned squishy and cold, squirming constantly. The boy struggled against the hold and let out a yelp when a dark goo shot off the ground and took hold of his stomach. He cried out as the goo spread all over his body, immobilizing his struggling legs and arms. _

_The boy was completely immobilized, tears streamed down his face as he tried to break free. He called out for his family but they didn't come. He cried out for his friends to help but they weren't there. He begged anyone for help but it never came. _

_A dark creature suddenly pounced on his chest. Two antennas on its head, body pitch black and glowing yellow eyes that burnt into his. The creature began to squirm, ignoring the cries from the boy, and let out a hiss that showed its razor-sharp teeth before pouncing at his face._

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><p>The same kid, now a teenager, woke up with a start. Sweat trailed down his face, his throat was completely dry and his whole body trembled. The teen ran a hand through his spiky brown hair and told himself to calm down, it had been just a dream after all.<p>

The brunette sat up and looked around his room, trying to keep his mind out of the dream. He didn't have much, except for a few bookshelves and his lumpy mattress. A few pieces of clothing were scattered around his room as were notebooks and soda cans. His closet was filled with mountains of dirty clothing and shoes, the teen could have sworn that he saw something peek out of the dirty clothes.

Unwillingly, the teen dragged himself out of bed and let out a yawn. The dream now out of his head, though he was still a bit agitated. He looked around the clothing on the floor and put on a pair of black baggy pants and a black hoodie over a gray shirt. The smell of his sweat hit his nose, making him gag before he reached for a can of cologne and spraying it over himself. He'd much rather smell like a perfumed hobo than a normal one any day.

He exited his room and made his way to the kitchen, not surprised to see it empty. His parents worked during the day and didn't pay much attention to him. He called back a time when he would cry over his parents not caring much about him but that was long ago, he had grown up and such things didn't bother him anymore. He walked over to the refrigerator and groaned when he saw the lack of food, they could at least buy something to eat.

The brunette moved to the living room and sat on the lone couch. He didn't have the biggest house but it was enough for him, he rarely saw his parents so it felt like he lived by himself, sometimes he found himself wondering if he really did but the fact that the place still had power proved otherwise. He glanced at the clock hanging on a wall and instantly frowned, it was only seven in the morning.

'_What the hell am I doing up so early,' _he groaned and crossed his arms. He didn't have anything to do at this time of the day since he didn't go to school until twelve o'clock. The house felt hollow and dark, making him feel uneasy. A memory of his dream entered his mind, the dark creature pouncing at him. The teen flinched before taking a deep breath to recollect himself.

"I'm out of here," he muttered to himself, trying to end the still silence on the house. He got up from the couch and walked to the front door, pocketing the keys that sat on a small table near it, before exiting his house.

Upon escaping the building, he instantly felt better. It was the middle of winter so the air was a little cool though not cool enough to make him wear a jacket, one of the perks of living in a tropical town he guessed. Locking the door, the brunette began his trek down the streets of his hometown, Destiny Islands.

He watched as people exited their homes to go about their daily routines. Reaching the end of the street he turned to his right, a clear view of the sparkling ocean. The brunette kept on walking down the street, his thoughts lingering on the weird dream he had had. The dream was almost completely gone from his head, only being able to recall small events with the most prominent one being the weird creature.

The teen suppressed a shudder and dug his hands into the pockets of his pants, it wasn't a good idea to linger in such a weird dream. He turned one more corner and instantly broke into a grin, weird creature completely out of his head. An old apartment building stood proudly before him, a few people walking out of it. Some recognized him and threw him dirty glares he easily ignored, he didn't know what was the point of making their dislike of him that evident. He knew why they didn't like him and, to be honest, he found it a little funny how they acted after past incidents having to do with he and his best friends making stupid, yet funny, decisions.

The brunette walked up a set of stairs and reached a hallway with many doors, all of them were exactly the same pale white except for a bright red door that 'broke the rules by being red,' as his friend had said.

He reached the door and took out a spare key he held. His friend was never one to wake up early and so had given him a key for his apartment if he ever wanted to be away from his empty house. The teen took the offer to heart and spent most of his days in the apartment though not many people were aware of it.

He entered the apartment and closed the door. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he glanced around the apartment. Beer cans, empty bags of chips and cigarette butts adorned the wooden floor. He made his way through the mess and reached the three couches that adorned the living room. A TV sat in front of them and a small coffee table stood in the middle of the room, serving as a kind of footrest.

He peeked over the largest couch and smirked when he saw his friend sleeping, though he was probably passed out again. His friend wore black jeans, a long-sleeved red shirt and a pair of old red and white shoes. The brunette sighed and went over to the kitchen. He opened the small fridge and took out a can of beer, quickly opening it and taking a gulp, enjoying the bitter taste on his mouth. Taking a sip he made his way to one of the couches before slumping against it. He let out a sigh and reached for the remote, turning on the TV and scanning through channels.

'_Right,' _he thought with a scowl on his face, going through a bunch of channels showing kid cartoons, _'Morning television is complete shit.' _

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><p>The brunette's vision slurred before his eyes focused on the TV once more. Gone was the show he was watching and on its place was the news. He realized he had dozed off for a bit, he looked to his right and saw that his friend was still sleeping on the couch. Looking at the clock he realized that it was now ten in the morning, making him let out an irritated sigh.<p>

'_Two more hours and I'll be in school,' _he thought with a sour expression on his face.

His friend stirred from his sleep before letting out a moan and turning so that his body faced the brunette. The teen watched his friend with a frown on his face, it was getting late and the idiot had yet to wake up.

The teen frowned and walked over to his friend, raising a foot and bringing it down on his friend's ribs. The other teen simply stirred, much to the brunette's annoyance.

"Hey…wake up already," the brunette growled as he pushed the other teen with his foot, "Wake up already, Axel."

The redhead groaned before opening his eyes with a frown on his face. He rubbed his eyes and faced the teen standing in front of him. "What are you doing here so early Sora?" Axel groaned as he sat up and yawned, "When I gave you the keys to my place, you were supposed to, you know, not wake me up."

Sora rolled his eyes, Axel was not a morning person by any means, he had learned that the hard way. "Come on, it's already freaking ten in the morning," he argued. The redhead looked around the room before his eyes landed on the clock hanging on the wall, "You know what we always do at this time."

Axel suddenly smirked. "Of course, how could I forget?" gone were the traces of sleep as he eagerly stood up and took a beer can from the floor, drinking its contents without hesitation much to Sora's disgust, "Let's get going already."

"Right," Sora nodded as he and Axel left the apartment.

The two walked through the parking lot of the apartment building until they reached an old beat up red car. Axel pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and opened it. The two entered the small car, not minding the mess of cans, trash and papers since they were pretty much used to it.

After a few bangs from the motor, the car was finally set into motion. Sora watched the buildings of Destiny Islands as they drove around, turning corners constantly. The constant buildings suddenly stopped and only left the clear blue sky in view.

The car came to a halt once they had reached one of the many beaches of town. Both of the teens got out of the car and walked towards the water, the sound of waves hitting the shore always calmed Sora which is why he was often found here simply enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

Sora watched the ocean with a small grin when his vision was blocked by a small cigarette-like object. "Quit looking at the water and smoke this fucking joint already," Axel joked with a smile on his face. The brunette chuckled and took out a lighter, he put the joint in his mouth before lighting the tip and taking a long drag out of it, "There you go. There's nothing like getting high outdoors, there's just something different about it."

"You're an idiot," Sora concluded with a light laugh as he took another drag of the joint.

"But I'm a good kind of idiot, got it memorized?" Axel laughed.

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><p>Sora walked through the streets of Destiny Islands once again, choosing to walk rather than get a lift from Axel. It was around noon which meant that it was safe to go to school, it amazed him just how far he went to avoid them. It wasn't like he enjoyed school but going there without a worry in the world sounded like a fun experience. He guessed it was part of the reason of why he intoxicated himself almost daily, he wanted to have no worries.<p>

A groan escaped his lips once he stood in front of the school, the building a glaring white. He didn't even know why he went to school but had to so that his parents didn't bother him about it. Whenever his grades were too low the school would call them over, they would meet the teachers and talk about how bad he was before going home and yelling about what a bad son he turned into. It happened so often that he could actually recite what they said. Not wanting to bother with his parents, he attended school almost daily and did the work much to his displeasure.

Breaking out of his inner musings the teen entered the school, his ears instantly filled with noise. He was glad that he had smoked since the sound of the hundreds of teens chatting in the building would've driven him insane. Sora began to make his way to his next class, math. Students looked at him oddly since he wasn't wearing the standard long-sleeved white buttoned up shirt under a green jacket, with black pants, instead choosing to wear whatever he wanted.

As he walked he suddenly took note of the time, twelve fifteen. _'Fuck,' _he cursed as he turned on his heel only to bump into another student. Sora glared at the person he bumped into but suppressed a groan when he saw who it was. Standing in front of him, with a rather pissed off expression, was the self-acclaimed 'toughest guy of the school' Seifer.

"If it isn't Sora, decided to come to school today?" Seifer mocked with a smug look on his face. It wasn't long before his two followers, Rai and Fuu, stood by his side.

"Good to see you Seifer," Sora said in a sarcastic tone that went unnoticed by the other teen.

Seifer smirked and crossed his arms. "I can't say it's good to see you too," he began as he started to circle the brunette, his two followers smirking, "Rumor has it that you're hanging out with 'bad' people. I want to know who it is."

"What's wrong Seifer? A little worried about me?" Sora answered with a smirk of his own, making Seifer growl, "Is your life so fucked up that you have to mess with the life of others?"

"Fuck you!" Seifer exclaimed as he threw a punch at the brunette. Sora prided himself on his fast reflexes and fighting skills but they went down considerably when he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, which explains why he could do nothing but watch as the fist made contact with his stomach.

Sora doubled over before backing away, throwing Seifer a glare. The brunette charged at the blond and threw a sloppy punch. Seifer easily dodged it before kicking his legs out from under him, making the blond fall to the floor. The blond was instantly on top of him and held his shoulders in a strong grip, making it impossible for him to move.

"Now listen you shit!" Seifer yelled in anger, "You don't know anything about me so shut the hell up!"

He raised a fist before bringing it down on Sora's face, snapping his head to the side. The brunette let out a groan of pain before receiving another punch, that blurred his vision momentarily. The assault continued, Sora's mouth beginning to bleed.

Seifer raised his first one more time but was stopped by a hard grip on his arm. He turned to the sourced but received a hard punch on his face, knocking him off Sora. His two followers immediately stood in front of them, glaring at the assailant.

"What do you want Riku?" Seifer snapped in anger, nursing his nose.

A silver-headed teen stood next to Sora with a frown on his face, his eyes narrowed on Seifer. "Don't think you can just fight here like that, I'm the student council president and I don't allow fights here," he stated with his arms crossed. The blond scoffed before walking away, his followers behind him. Riku turned to Sora and let out a small smile before extending a hand, "Are you alright man?"

Sora glared at the hand and slapped it away, managing to stand on his own two feet. His eyes darted across the hall to see that his fight had gathered the attention of many students, his blue eyes lingering on a redheaded girl before moving back to Riku. "I don't need your help," he growled as he began to walk away, swaying a bit as he did. Riku moved next to him and threw an arm around his shoulder in order to give him some support. Sora instantly moved away from the teen and glared, "I told you to fuck off!"

"Come on Sora, let me help you. You can't even walk straight," he argued with a worried expression on his face.

Sora glared. "I don't need your kind of help, I've learned my lesson," he snarled. Riku's eyes widen slightly before a wave of sadness filled his eyes, "Just leave me alone."

The brunette walked away from the group of people, wanting to get away from them as fast as possible. He could feel her staring at him from the group and he hated it. He hated the way his heart raced whenever she was near, it made him feel vulnerable and he despised it.

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><p>The school day finally ended, much to Sora's relief. He walked out of the school with a hand on his head, he had a mine hangover going on and it hurt like hell. The constant throbbing made him wince with each step but he held it together, it wasn't like his headache would get any worse.<p>

His eyes suddenly fell on Riku, standing on the school's gate with a redheaded girl. A wave of pain shot through his head, he idly wondered if he had invoked the pain somehow. He set his gaze on the floor and made his way out of the courtyard, hoping to walk fast enough to be unnoticed.

"Hey Sora!" he heard Riku call.

'_There goes that plan,' _Sora cursed as Riku and the red headed girl approached him, both with smiles on their faces.

"Kairi and I decided to wait for you," Riku announced with a small smile on his face, "You're probably feeling a little bad so we'll take you to my house and get you cleaned up, just like old times right?"

Sora stared blankly at the two before walking away, suppressing a groan when the two followed after him. "Please Sora," Kairi pleaded with a worried look on her face, her eyes filled with longing, "Just let us help you."

"Yo Sora!" interrupted a loud voice. Sora turned to his left to see Axel walking over with an exited smile on his face, the brunette had never been happier to see him.

Kairi glared at Axel, his reputation was well known to all. He was a drug-user that was constantly switching girls , scum, in her own words. If that idiot tried to corrupt Sora then she would skin him alive.

"I came to pick you up," Axel cheered, not noticing the glares he received from Riku and Kairi, "You missed the party last night but you won't miss this one. I've got everything set up, it'll be a crazy night man!"

Sora gave a quick glance to Riku and Kairi, in all honesty anything was better than being with them. "Alright," he agreed with a small grin, ignoring the disappointment running through the faces of the other teens, "But I'm not buying anything."

"It was a one-time deal," Axel laughed as he threw an arm around Sora and led him away from the other teens, "I guarantee you'll love this party."

"We'll see," Sora responded with a chuckle, glad to be away from the two teens.

Kairi watched Sora leave with a sad look on her face. "What happened to him?" she wondered out loud, making Riku look down in shame.

"I happened to him," Riku muttered, quiet enough to go unnoticed by the redhead.

Kairi felt tears well up on her eyes, she couldn't stand seeing Sora wreck his life like that. His grades fell dramatically over the past years, he wasn't in school every day and he had taken to avoid them at all costs.

She had no idea what had happened to her best friend. She remembered that he began to drift apart after she and Riku began a relationship. Looking back she guessed that something had happened to him during that time, but she had been too busy to notice it. As time passed she began to see less and less of Sora until he was almost non-existent on her life.

Kairi had always wanted to know what had happened to Sora in order to help him but he wouldn't let her. She found herself missing him more and more with each passing day to the point where seeing Riku wasn't what it used to be, she didn't feel the happiness she had felt at first, it felt as if something was missing from her life. Due to this, she and Riku had broken up months ago and developed a kind of sibling bond.

'_What's wrong with you Sora?' _she wondered as she stared at Axel's retreating car.

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><p>Sora woke up with a pounding headache, a blanket covering him from the cold. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, groaning as he did so. He felt something soft press against him, instantly turning to his right he saw a very naked brunette girl sleeping next to him with a small smile on her face.<p>

'_Right," _Sora recalled, watching the girl with a blank expression, _'I slept with Selphie yesterday.'_

He couldn't remember what exactly led up to this but he didn't put much thought on it, he did crazy stuff when he was drunk. The brunette threw the sheet off of his body and stood up, stretching his body with a yawn. His eyes suddenly widened, this was not Axel's apartment or his house for that matter, where the hell was he?

'_Alright, don't panic Sora, just look for clues,' _he told himself as his eyes darted around the room. Walls filled with posters of boy bands, cosmetics on a small bureau and a closet full of yellow clothing, _'I'm at Selphie's' _

Another yawn escaped his lips before his whole body froze, registering his predicament. He was at Selphie's, the girl who's dad liked to keep a gun on his house, the dad that would kill him if he saw him in his daughter's room with just his boxers on. Not waiting another second, Sora put on his pants and shoes before walking out of the room as quietly as possible.

He passed the wooden hallways until he made it to the living room. _'Just a few more steps,' _he sighed in relief, seeing the front door a few feet away. Before he could take one more step he heard the water go off in the kitchen. Sora's heartbeat rose as he tried to find another way out, opening the door would be way too noisy. It was by pure luck that he thought to look at the windows, one of them completely open.

'_Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,' _Sora shed a tear as he slowly made his way to the window before jumping out, welcoming the cool air on his skin. He landed on the lawn of Selphie's house and chuckled, _'I saw death in the face, and lived! There's no way I'm ever sleeping with Selphie again, way too much trouble.'_

"Sora?" he heard Riku's voice. With a startled look Sora looked to his left to see Riku and Kairi, both in their school uniforms, looking at him rather oddly. The brunette noticed the redhead blush and furrowed his brows. "Um Sora…" the silver-headed teen began a little awkwardly, "You don't have a shirt on."

Sora looked down at his body to see that he had forgotten to get his shirt. "Dammit," he growled, turning to Selphie's house, "I must've left it in Selphie's room."

"What?" Kairi muttered in disbelief.

Seeing the state of his friend, Riku cleared his throat. "What are you doing here, Sora?" he asked, "You don't live around here."

Sora frowned at the accusing tone, crossing his arms with an angry look on his face. "Isn't what I was doing here obvious?" he deadpanned. Riku and Kairi looked at him oddly making him sigh, he forgot just how oblivious they were to his sarcasm, "Selphie."

Kairi's eyes widened in disbelief, a hollow feeling on her chest, she didn't know why but she suddenly got the urge to cry. She watched as Sora frowned before turning on his heel and walking away, not even bothering to excused himself. It wasn't until Riku put a hand on her shoulder with a sad smile that the tears fell from her eyes, sadness washing over her being.

A sob escaped her lips as she kneeled on the ground, clutching her chest, Sora didn't care about her anymore. He preferred to be with Axel and Selphie, the school slut, rather than with his real friends. She didn't know why it hurt her so much but she couldn't stop the sobs as she used her hands to cover her face, she had lost him. His smile, his laugh, the warm look of his eyes, she would never see them again and she hated it. He was gone from here life.

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><p>It was noon when Sora stood in the school's roof, hands on his pockets and a scowl on his face. Today he wore the standard school uniform without the usual green jacket, instead only wearing the long-sleeved white buttoned up shirt and black pants.<p>

He had seen Kairi break down, he had seen it all from the moment her eyes showed disbelief to the moment when they filled with tears. It hurt him to see her like this, she was supposed to be a happy person with a sweet smile but she had been brought to tears and pain by him nonetheless.

"Why do I even care?" he muttered with a downcast expression. He knew exactly why he cared but didn't want to admit it, he had worked hard to rid himself of those feelings but they never left. Kairi was with Riku now and he knew that he was probably cheering her up at the moment.

His eyes lingered on the town before him, people and cars passing through the streets from time to time. He let out a shaky sigh and gritted his teeth, "Why do I still love her?"

**Ch.1 End**

**Well, this is the first chapter of my story. As you can see Sora has a one-sided feud with Riku and Kairi, and is waaaay to oblivious to other's feelings. I don't know when the next chapter will come out but pay close attention since it might come soon. **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter, remember to leave any questions if you have any though some might not be answered if they aren't to be revealed until later. **


	2. Lingering Dreams

**Here's the next chapter. Thanks to those who took the time to review, this is well appreciated, and those who put this story on their alerts and favorites, a big THANK YOU to you. The story will now switch over to another character, this will happen a lot on the story since I want to focus on everyone. **

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts<strong>

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><p><strong>Kingdom Hearts: Race to the Keyhole<strong>

**Ch.2 Lingering Dreams**

A blond with spiky hair walked through the streets of the large Twilight Town. This town was one of the biggest in the area with its tall buildings, population and the landmark that was the Twilight Clock Tower, said to be there even before the town had been founded.

The blond carried a school bag on his shoulder as he loosened up a blue tie around his neck. He wore a white buttoned up shirt under a blue jacket, dark blue pants and black shoes. He had just gotten out of his school, Twilight Town High, one of the best in the area. His grades had gotten him there, his parents had never been more proud, remembering their reaction made him want to give school his all. This resulted in him being in the top ten percent of the school with a bright future ahead.

Of course this had a negative effect on his social life since he was seen as a nerd or geek by his peers. He was usually picked on and had little friends. Being a teenager he worried about his social life but he would do nothing about it, he decided to be the bigger person. If he got friends then it would mean that they liked him as a person. He didn't want to gain them by being someone he was not. He wouldn't pretend to be someone else, doing that would lose the meaning of having friends in the first place.

He tightened the grip on the bag as he continued his trek through the streets, a sudden wave of disappointment washing over his face. Today had been the day where he would talk to Namine, his crush, and he had gathered all of his courage the night before. However, fate didn't seem to be on his side since he had completely forgotten about the sports festival that was scheduled earlier that day. In the end he ended up completely tired and approaching Namine was out of the question since she was surrounded by friends, some of them rather intimidating blitzball club members.

"There's always tomorrow…" he sighed out. He turned a corner, a terrifying scene waiting for him, showing itself so suddenly that he couldn't help but gasp. The giant, intimidating, horrible and cruel monstrosity sat there quietly as if taunting him. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, he had to do this.

The teen's right eye twitched as he stared at the tall and long hill that led to his neighborhood. It had slipped his mind for a second that this spawn of hell would be waiting for him. His body was still sore from the sports festival, he guessed that it just wasn't his day.

The blond dragged himself through the hill, groaning as he did so, until he finally reached the top. He released a sigh of relief before continuing his walk, his feet protesting with each step. He reached a crossroads almost turning to the right before he caught himself and taking the left road, today he wouldn't stop at home first.

His best friend had been absent from school. Like the good friend he was, on his humble opinion, he had copied an extra set of notes for her to use. They had a test at the end of the week and missing notes would hurt her grade. Her house came into view, much to his relief, and he quickly reached the door.

He reached under the single mat reading 'Welcome' and took out a key. He entered the home to see the simple living room with a set of stairs on the side. Not bothering to check the house for anyone he made his way up the stairs to arrive at a small hallway before entering one of four doors.

Upon opening the door he was greeted by the sound of explosions and shooting coming from the single TV that shone in the darkness of the room. He found his friend sitting in front of the TV with a controller on her hands, a blanket wrapped around her small frame and a light blush on her cheeks.

"Hey Xion," the teen greeted as he sat next to the girl, dropping the book bag on the floor. He knew not to expect an answer since she rarely spoke to anyone while in the middle of the game, since she said that it ruined her concentration. The blond simply settled for looking at his friend with a small smile. Her short black hair was messy under the blanket, her pale skinned seemed even paler and her blue eyes shone against the screen of the TV. From the looks of things she was pretty sick.

A few moments later Xion turned off the game and threw the blond a smile, happy to have company. "Hi Roxas, what are you doing here?" she asked before walking over to her bed and sitting down with her legs crossed. Roxas grinned and reached for his bag, taking out a red notebook before waving it in her face, "What's that?"

"I took notes for you," Roxas explained as he skimmed through the notebook before handing it over to her, "You didn't miss much since we had a sports festival but we still have a test on Friday." Xion nodded as she looked through the notebook, "I'll help you study if you want."

"Thanks," Xion replied with a small smile, she put the notebook on the bed before crossing her arms and giving Roxas a serious look, "So tell me, how were things with Namine? You did talk to her, right?"

Roxas instantly blushed and looked down. "I didn't…" he muttered in shame. Xion furrowed her brows and threw him a confused look, putting a hand around her ear showing that she hadn't heard him. "I said I didn't," the blond said a little louder, earning a loud sigh from Xion. She plopped down on the bed and ran a hand through her hair, "I tried but she never left her friends."

"You're hopeless Roxas," Xion sighed out in desperation, "It's been months and you haven't made a move on her. I'm starting to think I should help you with her after all."

"No, I'm alright," Roxas countered instantly with a frown on his face. He ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat, "I just need a better opportunity."

Xion sat up and crossed her arms with a thoughtful look on her face. "Then what are you going to do? From the look of things you aren't getting anywhere."

Roxas shrugged. "I don't know maybe I'll get a chance to talk to her," he turned away from Xion and looked through his school bag. He pulled out a textbook and gave her a grin, "For now I'll help you with your homework."

"Alright," Xion nodded and skimmed through the red notebook once more, quickly reading over the homework assignment.

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><p>It was dark when Roxas left Xion's home. A few hours after visiting Xion her parents had gotten back from work, instantly rushing over to the girl and feeding her medicine that would help. She had denied the medicine with a frown but after seeing her mom's teary eyes she took it. After that he had excused himself, ignoring his friend's pleading looks, and left the home.<p>

Roxas smiled at the memory. Even though they didn't spend much time together, Xion and her parents had a deep bond and cared for each other. He had known this for a while but it didn't hit him until now. Since he was Xion's friends he had met her parents a few years back, he spent many days on her home and grew close with them. It was good to visit them but they still got under his skin sometimes with their teasing, for some reason they pestered him on having feelings for Xion when he clearly didn't. She was a good friend but nothing else, he had made sure to tell them this but they still teased him from time to time.

With a sigh Roxas arrived at his home, opening the door and dropping his schoolbag. He walked to the living room to see his parents sitting on a couch, huddled together, with a movie on the TV.

"What took you so long? We were getting worried," Roxas' mom asked from her spot on the couch.

"I went to visit Xion," he explained, throwing a curious glance at the movie and noting that it was a romance, "She was sick today so I helped her with her schoolwork."

"That was very thoughtful of you," his dad said with a firm nod, making Roxas chuckle nervously. His dad was rather intimidating. He had short brown hair, piercing blue eyes, a mustache and to top it all of he was pretty tall.

"Right," Roxas muttered before turning away from them, "I'm gonna go to my room, I'm really tired."

He was glad that they didn't stop him, in all honesty he didn't think that he would be able to stay in the same room as them. He loved his parents but whenever they watched a movie, on top of that a romance, they would get rather... cuddly.

The teen shuddered as he made his way to his room, quickly closing the door just in case they called him back. His room was rather plain, it was medium-sized and had a single window with a view of the lower part of town. His bed sat next to the window and a bookshelf stood next to the door.

Without thinking twice, he threw himself on his bed with a groan. His body ached and creaked from the earlier abuse it had taken. For some reason he ended up playing almost every sport in school, it wasn't because he wanted to but because he had been trying to get away from someone. It was a teen called Isa who, for some reason, hated him and who's whole purpose was to make his life a living hell. Participating in the sports gave him the perfect excuse to be looked after the school staff and thus, avoiding him any trouble. It was a rather cowardly thing to do but he didn't care much, he just looked after his well-being.

He pushed those thoughts aside as he started to slip into unconsciousness. He would deal with all of these in the morning, for now he needed to sleep.

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><p><em>Roxas found himself in front of the clock tower, in the small plaza that stood before it to be exact, with everything around him black and white. He furrowed his brows in confusion and looked around the area, the sun was not out, yet the area around him was completely visible. The sky was plain with no clouds, in fact it was just a dull gray. There was not a single sound in the area, it was as if he was cut off from everything. <em>

_He took a step forward but winced when his foot made a loud echoing thump when it made contact with the floor. The sound filled the area before coming to rest, the place going back to its utter silence. The teen frowned and took another step, ignoring the loud noise his feet made. He continued to walk until he reached the railing of the small plaza and looked at the town. _

_Everything was completely still, he could clearly see a train on the train tracks but it didn't move, a cloud of smoke stayed still on top of the train. A few birds were frozen in mid-flight and even the faraway cars in the middle of the street didn't move. _

_Roxas took one more step but gasped when his feet didn't make the usual thumping noise but it creating a loud rumbling sound. He took a few steps back and the town began to shake violently, the gray sky suddenly became full of black cracks and the clock let out a loud chime. The teen watched with wide-eyes as the sky emitted the sound of breaking glass before shattering into millions of pieces, revealing a sky covered by a pure black and dark purple cloud. _

_Everything began to move again, the train in the distance, the birds and the cars. Darkness shot out of the ground and began to envelop buildings or anything else it came in contact with. The teen watched as a giant vortex appeared in the middle of the sky, swallowing everything on sight. He tried to scream but found that his voice was gone. With no idea on what to do he decided to run, run away from whatever was happening. _

_He broke into a sprint with no particular direction when he suddenly felt something slam against his back. Roxas fell to the ground with a thud before turning around, finding that everything was full of color once more. The buildings around him were covered in darkness and a small dark creature stood before him, squirming in place. _

_Roxas punched the creature away before quickly running away. He managed a smile when he saw that he was nearing his neighborhood when it was suddenly covered in darkness. The floor in front of him suddenly shattered and fell into a dark abyss. The teen stopped dead on his tracks and stared at the dark abyss in shock, just what had happened? _

_He tried to run once more but was tackled to the ground. The teen closed his eyes as he fell on the ground, his back hurting from the impact. Something moved on his chest, making him gasp and snap his eyes open. His shirt suddenly ripped in half, revealing a squirming darkness on his chest. _

_Roxas tried to scream in terror but nothing came out. He begged for help when the darkness on his chest took shape but nobody heard him. He tried to move as the darkness took the shape of the small creature he had encountered earlier but his body was completely immobilized. _

_His body shuddered as the dark creature glared at him with its piercing yellow eyes that seemed to burn into his very soul. The creature hissed as it bared its sharp teeth, squirming as it leaned back with its eyes focused on the teen before it pounced at his face._

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><p>Roxas woke up with a start, feeling his heart pounding against his chest. He gripped his chest and let out a hiss of pain, something strange was going on. His chest felt like it was in pain but not a physical one, he couldn't describe how it really felt. His throat was dry and his head was full of sweat, he didn't know what was wrong with him.<p>

He quickly walked over to the bathroom and turned on the water of his sink, splashing it on his face. The teen looked at himself in the mirror, his skin seemed a little paler and there was a light blush on his face. From the looks of things he was getting sick.

'_So that's it…' _he sighed out in relief. He had simply caught whatever Xion had, it was obvious since he had spent so much time with her. This would also explain his weird dream and symptoms, he would need to speak with his friend later.

He finished up cleaning up and went down to the kitchen, finding his father sitting in a small counter and his mom making something on the stove.

"Are you alright son?" his dad asked with a frown on his face.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Roxas replied with a light nod. He went to sit on the kitchen counter and rested his chin on his hands, letting out a yawn.

His mom turned away from the stove and frowned. "You know that you don't have to go to school if you're feeling too bad, right?" she asked with a worried look, "If you're too sick then just tell us and we'll take you to the doctor."

"No I'm fine," Roxas assured with a smile on his face. It was always good to know that his parents cared about him even if they got too annoying sometimes.

"Oh by the way," his mom began with a finger on her chin, "Your uncle and aunt called to tell us that Sora would be staying over in a few days. You haven't seen him in a while so show him around town when he gets here."

Roxas nodded with a small grin, he remembered his cousin from some time ago. Sora had always been a happy-go-lucky kid full of energy. Seeing him again would be great, they had been like brothers and it would be nice to have him back.

"Are they still like that?" Roxas heard his dad ask in a firm tone. The blond turned to his parents with his head cocked to the side, not knowing what they were talking about.

"Yeah," she replied with a sad smile.

His parents got quiet and turned to what they were doing. It seemed a bit suspicious bet he knew not to stick his nose in other people's business, it they wanted him to know then they would tell him. Right now he had more important things to worry about.

He didn't know what his earlier dream had been about but he somehow recalled every single detail and couldn't get it out of his mind, it had been way too vivid. The small creature was what freaked him out the most, those yellow eyes and the way it had prepared to attack made him feel uneasy. He really needed to talk to Xion, maybe it would clear his mind.

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><p>"… and then the weird creature just jumped at my face," Roxas finished his story before throwing his hands in the air.<p>

He was currently walking next to Xion, who looked a lot better than the night before. She wore the female student uniform that consisted of a gray skirt with blue square patters and a white buttoned up shirt under a blue jacket. The two had met on the crossroads that led to their homes and went down the hill that led to school.

"That's creepy," Xion stated with a frown on her face. She crossed her arms and pouted her lips, trying to think of what the dream could have meant.

"Tell me about it," Roxas muttered with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. He frowned before closing his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the light breeze against his skin. There was a sudden tap on his forehead, making him open his eyes to see Xion smiling at him with her hand moving away from his head.

"Don't worry about it Roxas," she said in a calm tone. A teasing grin appeared on her face as she rested her hands on her hips, "You have enough to worry about being a school outcast." Roxas groaned, making the girl giggle, "But that's not a bad thing, you're different and some girls like that."

Roxas found himself blushing slightly as he gave Xion a grin. "Right," he muttered as he walked ahead of his friend, "Maybe I need to be different if I want to get Namine to notice me."

The blond found himself filled with determination, he decided that his confession would be today. So engrossed with his thoughts, he failed to noticed the hurt expression that crossed Xion's face as he walked further and further away from her.

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><p>Roxas' classroom was full of life. Students walked in and out of the room, other gathered in groups around desks and talked while some more reserved students settled for eating lunch in peace. There was a cafeteria in the school of course but a large portion of students preferred to eat in the classroom since they didn't have to worry about being late to class afterwards.<p>

The blond teen sat on his desk with a bored look on his face, he had finished his lunch and had nothing to do. He simply gazed around the pale brown classroom, walls filled with charts and motivational posters, and a large desk sitting opposite of the desks.

The blond sighed and rested his chin on his hands before hearing the door slam open. He turned to the source of noise to see Xion standing there with an exited smile on her face. The students in the classroom watched in puzzlement as her eyes scanned over the room. Her gaze fell on Roxas before she hurriedly walked over to him, the smile never leaving her face.

"Hey Roxas," she greeted with a small wave. She took the seat in front of him before turning to face him, "Guess what?"

"What are you doing in my classroom?" he deadpanned.

Xion frowned and crossed her arms. "I told you to guess something, you don't have to be rude," she muttered before breaking into a grin once more, "I came here to ask you a favor."

Roxas' ears perked up. "What is it?" he asked. It was rare for Xion to just ask him for a favor, she was a pretty independent person and wouldn't ask for help unless it was an important matter, "You're not in trouble are you?"

"Of course not," Xion replied with a wave of her hand. Her face grew serious and she leaned in closer to Roxas, making him blush lightly from the closeness, "I have a project in my class that's worth a large portion of my grade. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to help me with it."

"Sure," Roxas said with a shrug. He assumed it wouldn't be too much trouble since his schedule was fairly empty, "What's the project?"

Xion dug a hand into one of the pockets of her jacket before taking out a folded piece of paper. "This is it," she waved the paper in front of the blond before handing it to him. Roxas took it in hand and began to unfold it, "We're supposed to research certain parts of town for something."

Roxas read over the contents of the paper and sighed. "Xion…" he began with his right eye twitching in annoyance. Xion cocked her head to the side in confusion, "This project was due today."

"Don't worry," she waved him off with a sigh, "The teacher said that since I was sick I could turn it in tomorrow."

"But you're starting the project today, when the paper says it started last week, right?" he growled. Xion smiled and nodded, making the blond sigh, "Xion, sometimes you're just too calm when it comes to school."

"Hey, what's the point of stressing over school anyway," she argued, "Things are going to get harder when we get older so why stress over school?"

Roxas stared blankly at Xion before slowly breaking into a grin. He ran a hand through his hair and chuckled, sometimes she made a lot of sense. "You're right," he agreed, making his friend smile, "There's nothing to worry about, I'm sure we'll finish the project if we start as soon as school is over." He read over the paper once more and broke into a grin, "Looks like our first stop will be the train station."

"Right," Xion nodded with a smile on her face.

Images of the dream were still present on Roxas' mind but, thanks to Xion, he wasn't as concerned about them. Her relaxed attitude was contagious and he appreciated her for it. It had just been a dream with no deep meaning or anything, so why should he over analyze it?

Life was good and calm with no worries, it was perfectly normal.

**Ch.2 End**

**That's the second chapter guys. Next chapter will show why this story is rated M and will set things to motion. I have another story to work on so the next chapter might take a little longer to come out, but Ch. 3 will be out before next week is over.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter, remember to leave any questions if you have any.**


	3. It Begins

**Here's the next chapter guys. Like I said before this is when the story is really show to be 'M' rated. **

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts<strong>

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><p><strong>Kingdom Hearts: Race to the Keyhole<strong>

**Ch.3 It Begins**

Sora woke up with a pounding headache. He quickly brought a hand to his head and let out a groan, his stomach was in a knot, his throat was completely dry and he could taste stuff he didn't know he had eaten, yup, he had a hangover. Somehow he had decided that attending another of Axel's parties would be a good thing, how wrong he was.

Resisting the urge to vomit he got off of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. Like always, things were completely quiet throughout the house, but he couldn't care less at the moment. He opened the door to the bathroom and turned on the sink, splashing his face with water and closing his eyes. He let out a shaky sigh before flipping on the light switch but nothing happened.

"Come on," he sighed out as he flipped the switch on and off but to no avail. He exited the bathroom and stomped over to his parent's room, throwing the door open. The good thing of being alone was that he could do whatever he wanted on the house with no repercussions. He walked over to the light switch and flipped it on, only to get the same results as before. There was no electricity.

"Fuck," Sora cursed when he saw a note sitting on his parents' bed. He walked over to it and took it in hand, reading its contents out loud, "Son, we had a business trip and had to leave-without telling your son of course-we will not be back for two weeks. Your uncle will be home to pick you up in a couple of days. Hell no."

Sora exited the room with a scowl on his face. He had no intention of going to his uncle's house, if he ended up going there then he wouldn't get to do anything crazy for a few days and that was out of the question. If his uncle was really coming to get him then he would do so at all costs, he was the kind of man that would always keep his word. Staying at Axel's seemed like the only thing he could do since his uncle had no idea where he lived.

The teen threw off his shirt and entered his room, picking up his school uniform, the class representative had given him a lecture about wearing the thing and he didn't feel like having a repeat of the conversation. He thought of just not showing up at all but he didn't feel like going to those extremes, part of him actually wanted to graduate with his classman.

Once fully clothed, Sora exited his room before walking out the front door. The air was cool against his body and he suppressed a sigh, he really hated cold weather, it always seemed to radiate a kind of sadness. The air would always take away dried up fallen leaves through the deserted streets of town with only the sound of the leaves against the pavement. Sora hated days like this, it reminded him of himself somehow, he wished he could be like summer again and be full of warmth and life but that part of his life was in the past and all that remained was the cold and dead winter.

Sora let out a sigh before digging his hands into the pockets of his pants. His school bag was strapped to his right shoulder, and his hair moved slightly from the light breeze. He locked the door of the house and set out to another day in school, he hoped that Riku and Kairi wouldn't bother him today, he was feeling more melancholic than usual.

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><p>The teen made it to school and gazed at the building, it was full of life. Students entered the building with mixed expressions, some calm, other wearing smiles on their face while others, like himself, dreaded entering the building. He watched as the students broke into small groups and talked amongst each other, what they talked about he didn't know but they appeared to be completely entertained. His life had once been like that, talking and being surrounded by friends but it wasn't until now that he realized how hollow it had really been.<p>

Back then he simply moved with the crowd, doing what they wanted. His friends had wanted a happy-go-lucky boy and he had given it to them. He had acted like a fool for years to make his 'friends' smile and feel better when they were down. It had all been an act, he concluded, there was no way he had actually been that kind of person in the past, it didn't make sense. His life hadn't been the best for as long as he could remember. Unlike other kids, his parents didn't seem to change through time, they had been assholes all of his life. So there was no way that he would willingly want to make others feel happy.

He remembered a time when seeing kids have fun with their parents seemed foreign. Why they seemed to enjoy each other's company he didn't know until his parents sent him to his uncle and aunt's home. They had a son about his age, Roxas, and they were a close family. Their relationship was odd to him at first but it wasn't until they included him into their lives that he began to understand what the other kids felt, he was happy to have someone around who seemed to care about his well-being.

When he was taken back home the warmth and happiness had been cut off. He began to yearn for the same attention but his parents never gave him anything. During this time he acted out in school, getting in all kinds of trouble to make people laugh and soon became the class clown. It remained that way until he entered junior high.

Sora shook his head, ridding himself of the trail of thought. He didn't want to remember anything else. Quickly pushing through the crowds he made it inside the building, letting out a content sigh when he felt the warm air of the building envelop his body. It was possibly the only good thing of school at the moment.

"Attention students!" loomed the speakers of the building. Sora let out an annoyed growl, remembering why he had actually been early to school, "Go to the gymnasium immediately. The student council has some announcements to make."

The teen made his way to the gym with a scowl plastered on his face. He would need to sit in a room full of people who didn't know when to shut up. How he loathed student council announcements. It wasn't that he hated the student council, even though he did, but he specially hated the people who seemed to think that they had to blurt something out every ten seconds. _Penis, fuck, vagina, _and _you're gay, _seemed to be the most common thing idiots liked to blurt out.

He entered the gym to see it filled with hundreds of chairs with some people already on them. _'Alright, think Sora. This doesn't have to suck, I can find someone I know and just talk the rest of the time here,' _his eyes scanned the room until they landed on a tall muscular teen with dark skin and orange hair, _'Good.'_

Sora quickly took the seat next to the teen. "Hey Wakka what's up?" he greeted with a smile. The bigger teen smiled back and patted the brunette's back, earning a glare from said teen.

"Sora!" he greeted with a laugh, "It's been a while."

"It has," the teen answered with a small grin. There were certain groups of people in school and each served its purpose. Unlike any of those teenage dramas in T.V there weren't any of those popular groups of people who could somehow 'run' things in school, such things were just blatant lies. Instead there were the club members, cheerleaders, sluts, nerds, goths, and the douches. Each liked to hang out with their own though they still hung out with others from time to time.

Wakka was a rare breed, he was the kind of person who nobody seemed to hate and was easy to talk to. Something about his easy-going nature seemed to affect people around him and you couldn't help but let out a chuckle every time you saw him.

Soon the chairs were filled with chattering students and unfortunately for Sora, the 'funny' guys who in reality were the douches, sat right behind him. It would be a long day for him, he just hoped that the announcement wouldn't take too long.

His train of thought was broken when he saw the council walk to the large stand that had been put on the gym. He let out an annoyed grunt. The council consisted of Riku, the president, and its members; Kairi, Tidus and Selphie. He noticed that the redhead seemed to be throwing glares at the clueless Selphie who seemed more interested in looking her best for the gathered students.

Riku approached a wooden stand and cleared his throat. "Good morning, I'm glad you could make it today," he began with a polite smile, "We, the student council, have some important announcements to make."

"PENIS!"

"Here we go…" Sora muttered with a growl. Behind him the douches laughed their asses off as if it had actually been funny. Riku continued talking as if nothing had happened but the brunette wanted to leave the place as soon as possible. By the chuckles coming from the idiots he had a feeling that it would be a long assembly.

"What's wrong Sora?" Wakka suddenly asked, making the brunette raise a brow, "Ya' look or depressed and what not."

The brunette found himself chuckling. He guessed that the word 'depressed' could be used to describe himself. "I guess I am," he stretched his arms and set them behind his head, letting out a yawn, "But I'm used to it now."

Wakka simply nodded with a sad look on his face. He had known Sora for a long time, since they were both young, and he had been a happy kid. Not only was he a happy person but he did his best so that others around him would be so as well. Things had been great with the brunette around but it wasn't until junior high that he started to act more cold and secluded. His friends had been concerned and knew that something must have happened to him, something bad that made him look at life differently. What it was? They had no idea.

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><p>It had been an hour since the assembly started and, much to Sora's rage, it was still going with no sign of stopping. His right eye twitched as he did his best not to fall asleep, he didn't know what kind of assembly went on for so long but what he did know was that he was about to snap. The douches behind him didn't seem to shut up and they were still shouting nonsense whenever they had the chance and worst of all Kairi had found him amongst the crowd and smiled.<p>

Sora didn't know why she had smiled but he hated it. His heartbeat rose, his hands became sweaty and he felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He had quickly turned his head away and noticed that he had had a blush on his face.

'_Dammit, I'm losing it here," _Sora crossed his arms and looked around the room, trying to find something to entertain himself with. Riku was still talking, something about a festival, and wore the same polite smile that he hated. The brunette wished that he had gotten drunk or high before any of this, at least then he would probably not care about anything going on.

'BOOM!'

It happened as Sora tried not to fall asleep. It happened as Riku talked on the stance, loving the sound of his voice. It happened as a teen gave another a 'wet willy,' making the brunette chuckle. It happened so suddenly that the whole room broke into complete silence.

An explosion had just rocked the area, followed by piercing screams and the sound of tires screeching. The whole room remained quiet, even the douches appeared to be in shock, nobody knew what was happening and that was the worst part, the unknown is the scariest thing after all.

"ATTENTION STUDENTS AND STAFF!" The principal, all but spoke through the speakers around the school, "Staff, lock all doors of the gym and do NOT let anyone out. Students, you are to remain calm and listen to anything the staff says. Under NO circumstances you are to go out of the room. We will contact your pa-AHHHHH!"

The announcement was suddenly cut off by the principal's scream, followed by a thump and a low growl. The school staff stood frozen in fear and shock, some with tears on their eyes. Sora noticed that the students around the room seemed the same, all held fear and couldn't move.

Sora found himself feeling numb. He wasn't scared but he was still worried, whatever had happened was big. This numbness didn't bother him, in fact he was relieved he felt nothing about the situation at hand, whatever it was, since it meant that he would keep a clear head. For now the best course of action would be to get out of the school and find Axel since he was the only person he knew with a car.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the room, making everyone turn their heads to find a teen with black hair approaching one of the doors. "What are you doing brat?" a teacher yelled in panic, "We are not to get out of here!"

The teen scoffed. "Do you really think something is going on?" he chuckled and placed a hand on the door, "It's just a stupid prank"

All eyes watched as the teen opened one of the doors of the gym. "See, there's nothing wrong," he laughed. He was right, there was nothing but silence coming from the outside. The teen turned to the crowd with a smug look on his face, "You guys are just a bunch of cowards."

Sora gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. The guy with black hair was an idiot. There was no sound coming from outside, when the place should be filled with cars and people yelling profanities at each other. Something was obviously wrong to have such level of silence. His eyes suddenly widened when he noticed a circular black shadow approaching the teen's feet.

The shadow suddenly rose and took the shape of a small creature with a round face, two antennas and piecing yellow eyes. Sora tried to warn the teen but found that he couldn't utter a sound, he noticed his hands were shaking uncontrollably and his breath had become ragged. It was the same creature he had seen on his dreams.

"I'm outta here!" the teen announced as he turned on his heel before being tackled to the ground. He emitted a groan of pain before letting out a scream. The creature stood on the teen,s chest with its eyes staring hungrily at his body. "What the fuck is this? Help!" the boy trashed violently before the creature raised a clawed hand and dug it into his right bicep. Blood splattered out of the wound as the teen screamed in agony, trashing against the creature.

The creature's eyes lit up in glee as it lowered its face to the wound and opened its mouth. "Help me! Help me please!" the teen screamed through tears before the creature bit the wound. "AAAAHHHHHHH!" the creature chewed on the teen's flesh with blood sticking all around its face, emitting groans of pleasure at each bite. It suddenly moved away from the wound and approached the teen's face, glaring into his eyes. The teen could do nothing but cry as the creature pounced on his face.

The crowd of students watched as the creature bit the face of the helpless student restlessly. He continued to cry in pain but nobody could do anything to help, in fact a large part of the crowd had left the building. "AAAAHHHHHH HELLLLP!" the teen screamed in agony as the creature chewed on his face. Blood stained the gym's floor as the creature hissed in glee before moving away from the face, revealing a mess of blood and tattered skin. It raised its clawed hand before bringing it down on the teen's right eye and digging it through his brain. The creature's eyes lit up in glee as it took out its hand to reveal a piece of gray, almost purple, muscle.

Sora fought the urge to vomit as the creature brought it to its mouth and chewed. "GET OUT OF HERE!" a teacher screamed. The brunette didn't need to hear it twice as he sprinted for one of the doors. He slammed it open and ran outside before stopping dead on his tracks.

The town he had grown up in was in a state of chaos. The remains of cars were on the street with clouds of smoke emitting from them, buildings were on fire, lifeless bodies were scattered through the streets and people ran in panic, not even knowing where.

"What happened?" Sora muttered, his whole body trembling and tears gathering on his eyes. He was scared, no, terrified. It had been a normal morning only an hour ago, how had it ended up like this? What the hell was he supposed to do?

His head suddenly snapped to the side, hearing a scream. It wasn't the scream that got his attention, but the voice that did it. "Kairi!" Sora yelled as he ran to where the scream came from. He didn't know what was going on but he wouldn't let her die, she was still important to him. Upon turning a corner in one of the school's buildings he saw Kairi and Riku standing against a wall with three students walking towards them.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sora yelled in anger. Riku and Kairi turned to him with looks of shock. The brunette gritted his teeth as the students turned towards him, their school uniforms stained with blood. His eyes widened when they glared at him, their eyes a piercing yellow and their faces full of black spots that seemed to be spreading throughout their bodies.

"Run Sora!" Kairi yelled with tears on her eyes.

Sora gritted his teeth as his eyes darted through the area. The corpses of students were dragging themselves towards him and he had no way to defend himself. His eyes quickly landed on the gym's supply room, not waiting a second he ran away from the zombified students.

Kairi watched him leave with a hint of relief on her eyes. She could do nothing but watch as the corpses walked towards them with their mouths open and grunts escaping their mouths every once in a while. Sora would live and that was all she wanted, it wasn't until now that she realized why she had missed him so much. She loved him.

Suddenly one of the 'zombies' had its head bashed by a bat, with blood splattering out of it before it fell on the ground. Sora had a determined expression on his face as he held a bat on his hands, his uniform now tainted with blood. He ran at another 'zombie' and jabbed it on the face with his bat, making it stagger backwards. Another 'zombie' pounced at him with a growl but was knocked aside by a bat to the face. Blood splattered onto Sora as he moved to the right and swung the bat once more, hitting the last zombie on the side before kicking it on its chest.

The 'zombie' fell on the ground before Sora ran at Riku and Kairi. "You guys alright?" he asked through pants.

"We are," Riku affirmed with a nod before gasping in shock.

Sora turned around to see a rather large 'zombie' glaring its yellow eyes into the brunette. "Wakka…" he muttered with a pained expression on his face. The 'zombie' howled before running at the three teens. The brunette turned back to his once friends, "Find a way out. I'll keep him busy."

The two didn't have a chance to counter as Sora ran at the 'zombie.' Riku looked around the area, with Kairi doing the same. If they wanted to survive whatever was going on they had to find a way out quickly. His eyes suddenly landed on manhole, leading to the sewers.

"Kairi," he called as he ran at it with Kairi following after him. Riku pointed at the manhole cover with a relieved expression on his face, "Help me open this thing. We'll get Sora when it's open."

"Right," Kairi agreed as the two teens bent down and tried to lift the round metal plate.

Meanwhile Sora met the sprinting Wakka with a bat to its stomach. It emitted a growl before punching at the brunette's face. The teen couldn't dodge the blow and was struck on the nose, that instantly started to bleed. Sora took a few steps back, holding his nose in pain, before the 'zombie' ran at him once more.

"Fuck," Sora cursed as he let go off his nose and gripped the bat with both hands. _'I have to time this right,' _he watched as the 'zombie' got closer and closer before tightening his grip on the bat, a clear shot at his face, "Now!"

"_Sora!" he greeted with a laugh, "It's been a while."_

Sora's stopped mid-swing with his eyes widening. _'I can't do this,' _the 'zombie' took the opportunity and tackled the brunette to the ground, landing on top of him. The teen cried in pain from the impact before staring helplessly at Wakka, his bat was still held on his right hand but he couldn't' bring himself to kill his friend.

It's eyes seemed to light in glee before it leaned its head back. Sora recalled his dream and quickly brought the bat in front of him before the 'zombie' brought its face down on the teen, making the 'zombie' bite into it. It pushed against the bat with a growl, making Sora wince as he tried to keep a hold on Wakka. He had no chance when it came to pure strength and killing him would be out of the question, the only thing he could do was make sure that it wouldn't kill him.

'_Got it!' _Sora raised his left hand to push against the bat, making the 'zombie' apply more pressure into it. Using all of his strength he pushed against the bat, pushing Wakka away from his body. The teen managed to smirk as he suddenly brought the bat away from the 'zombie,' making it dive straight for his face.

"Take this!" Sora exclaimed as he pushed the bat into the 'zombie's' mouth with a smashing sound. Blood splattered onto the teen's face before the 'zombie' moved away from him with a howl of pain. The teen instantly stood up and watched as it retreated with its teeth smashed.

"Sora!" Riku called, getting the brunette's attention. Sora smirked when he saw the passage to the sewers, his once friends weren't stupid. He nodded and ran over to them with a weary expression, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he answered as he wiped the blood off his face, "You go in first, I'll keep watch." Riku nodded and climbed down the ladder that led to the sewers, leaving the brunette and Kairi alone.

"Sora…" she muttered with a small smile on her face. Sora turned to her with his head cocked to the side, one of the habits he had discarded when he isolated himself. Kairi's smile grew, there was still hope to having him back, "Thank you."

"Wh-…I," he stumbled over his own words as Kairi climbed down the ladder. A blush crept onto his face but he quickly shook his head, all of these conflicting emotions wouldn't do him any good right now. The world around him was changing dramatically and he had to find a way to be safe.

He looked around the area once more, making sure that there were no 'zombies' around before moving towards the manhole. His chest ached horribly from the tackle he had taken but he had bigger things to worry about. He bent down and dragged the metal place near the hold as he climbed down the ladder. Using one hand he managed to cover the manhole before climbing down, having a 'zombie' stumble towards them would lead to big trouble.

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><p>The three teens walked through the sewers with blank looks on their faces. They had no idea where exactly they were going, all they knew was that they had to get away from the school. It had been about an hour since they entered the place and none of them had uttered a single word, too shocked to say anything. The smell of the place was horrible but they had gotten used to it by now, same with the bad lighting of the place.<p>

"What now?" Riku suddenly asked in a defeated tone.

Sora kept looking at the path ahead with a thoughtful expression. "I'm going to get Axel…" he began, "He has a car so he'll be able to get me out of here… What about you guys?"

Kairi got a worried look on her eyes as she trailed behind Sora. "I have to see if my parents are alright," she stated.

"Me too," Riku informed with a frown on his face. He looked at the two people walking with him and managed a small smile, "Nice to have us all together again though."

_Three kids ran through the play island with smiles on their faces. _

"_I'm gonna beat ya this time Riku!" a boy with brown spiky hair declared with a determined yet playful look on his face. _

_The young Riku turned his head back to see his friend trying to keep up. "You wish," he said through pants, "I'm already winning."_

"_No fighting you two," Kairi scolded as she tried to keep up with her two friends._

"Right," Kairi agreed with a small smile, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the back of Sora's head.

"_Hey Riku," Sora asked as he sat on a curved papou tree, his two best friends sitting next to him, watching the sunset, "Do you think there are people who look like us far away?"_

_Riku smiled with his arms crossed. "Of course," he nodded, "And I bet they're best friends like us."_

"_I wish we could meet them," Kairi sighed out with a smile on her face._

"Whatever," Sora grunted with a single tear sliding down his cheek, memories hitting him like a pile of bricks.

"_Sora?" Kairi gasped in surprise as she opened the window of her room. Said boy smiled and jumped into her room with puffy red eyes, "What are you doing here?"_

_Sora looked down. "Can I stay with you?" he asked in an uncertain voice, "You don't have to let me if you don't want to…"_

"_They're fighting again…" Kairi stated with a sad smile. It was dark outside and she wouldn't let him on the street alone. She walked to her bed and laid on it with a light blush, "You can stay Sora."_

"_Thank you," Sora muttered as he laid on bed next to her. Kairi threw an arm around him with a small smile. The boy sniffed before tears streamed down his face, burying his face on the small girl's shoulder. _

The three continued to walk through the sewers not knowing if things would get better in the world and between them.

**Ch.3 End**

**That's it for now guys. I was kind of glad with how this turned out but I'm not sure what you'll think. I know that the chaos came out of nowhere but that's how things are, they don't wait for anyone. If I had written more chapters to prepare the characters for this then there wouldn't have been any kind of character development. That's why I decided to make it happen out of nowhere since that's how things should work. That doesn't mean that I won't explain _why _it happened but it will be explained later on the story.**

** Also the reason I referred to them as 'zombies' is because I'm still not sure what to call them, if you have any suggestions then please let me know. Next chapter will be out by next week so pay close attention to this. **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter, remember to leave any questions if you have any. **


	4. Twilight's End

**Here's the next chapter guys. Sorry that it took so long but I was busy going over my own work. I got a little ahead of myself and started this story without a clear plot, but don't worry since I've fixed the problem. This story will be updates once every two weeks since I"m already busy with my other stories.**

**Before this chapter starts I would like to show you the chapter timeline to avoid confusion. With the way I will post them, things will get a little hectic so pay attention. **

**Ch.1 – Ch.3 – Ch.2 – Ch.4**

**The reason I'm doing it like this is because there will be a lot of switching of characters on the story. For example, in one chapter you'll have Sora's side while the other will show Roxas' side. **

**Also I will not be referring to them as 'zombies' but as 'stillhearts.' This is a suggestion I got and liked the name. **

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts<strong>

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><p><strong>Kingdom Hearts: Race to the Keyhole<strong>

**Ch.4 Twilight's End**

Roxas and Xion walked uphill towards the train station, their first stop for the day. School had been over for a little over half an hour and the two had immediately left the building to get started on her project. According to the assignment, Xion would need to research various parts of town. She would need to write down how the place was important and how it added to the economy.

The blond teen read over the paper once more. All of the places they needed research on were, unsurprisingly, small businesses. He couldn't understand why Xion didn't do it earlier but he decided not to think about it too much. She had a tendency of getting into all sorts of situations that were better left unsaid. They had the rest of the day to work on it, they could still finish on time. They would only need to pull an all-nighter and manage to wake up the following day, not too much to ask for.

"Hey Roxas," Xion suddenly tugged on Roxas' sleeve, getting his attention. The black haired teen pointed at an ice cream shop with an exited smile on her face. "We should get some ice cream," she declared, crossing her arms and nodding at herself, "It's a tradition to have sea-salt ice cream when researching stuff."

"You just made that up didn't you?" Roxas deadpanned.

"Let's go!" she cheered as she began walking towards the store.

A little irked by being ignored, Roxas took hold of her hand before she got too far. "We don't have time for ice cream right now," he scolded. Xion held a blank look on her face, refusing to move an inch, "Come on Xion. We need to take the train to the next station. The next one leaves in a few minutes."

Xion's expression faltered before pouting in annoyance. "Fine," she yanked her hand out of Roxas' hold and resumed her walk to the train station. The blond teen walked after her with a guilty look on his face, he knew how much she loved the ice cream and how much she hated being negated something.

"How's this? When we get back we'll buy the ice-cream. I'll even pay for yours," Roxas suddenly proposed.

The dark haired girl instantly turned around with a smile on her face. "Okay, I guess I'll accept your offer," she turned back to the street before her eyes widened slightly and her smile faltered.

The train station was in view now and Xion had spotted a familiar blonde enter the station. "What's wrong Xion?" Roxas asked, standing next to her with his head cocked to the side, "Why so glum all of a sudden?"

Xion shook her head and broke into a smile. "I'm fine. I was just thinking," her smile turned into a teasing smirk before crossing her arms, "I just saw Namine walking into the train station. And guess who's going to go talk to her?"

Roxas instantly blushed and flailed his arms in the air. "I can't do that!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing through the empty street, "I'm not ready yet."

"Excuses… excuses," Xion muttered, waving her hand dismissively in the air. She faced Roxas and pointed a finger at him, "You're going to talk to her and that's that. If you don't then she'll find someone else. Do you want that?"

"No…" Roxas admitted with a downcast look. He had had a crush on Namine for a few months now. As far as he knew, she had never had a boyfriend before since she seemed like the type that kept to herself. What he liked the most about her was that she was nice to everyone even though her friends weren't exactly nice.

Xion smiled and took hold of his hand. "Then let's go," she announced as she dragged him into the train station, thoughts of her school project forgotten at the moment.

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><p>The inside of the train station was large with many benches around the lobby. It had many ticket windows and many small shops along the walls, the perfect place for business with the usual rushes of people. However, today there was barely a sign of anyone. In fact, only Namine sat in a chair with a notebook on her hands.<p>

The two friends entered the building with puzzled expressions. It was way beyond strange to have almost no one on the station. It was usually crowded on this certain time. At times like this one could barely walk. Something was off.

"What's going on here?" Roxas muttered as his eyes wondered around the building.

Xion shrugged. "Don't worry about it, there's probably some kind of festival or parade going on today," she guessed before walking towards a ticket window, "Let's just buy our tickets so that you can get to work."

"Don't you mean _we _can get to work," the blond teen countered with a scowl on his face, he really didn't want to get stuck doing her whole project.

"I meant Namine," she teased with a grin. Roxas blushed and turned away making Xion laugh before approaching the ticket window. Her brows furrowed when she saw nobody behind the window. She looked at the other windows but found no one, it made her uneasy but it wasn't as if something bad had happened, right?

Not knowing what to do she went back to Roxas, guessing that he would think of something. As she walked she took notice of her blond friend throwing glances at Namine, who sat on a bench apparently drawing something. A smile graced her face, he had it bad.

"Hey lovebird," she greeted with a mischievous smile.

"W-what?" Roxas stammered as his cheeks reddened.

Xion laughed lightly and shook her head, it was fun to turn him into a bumbling mess. As she was about to retort a loud screech suddenly filled the area. The two teens covered their ears with pain written all over their faces.

"What's going on?" Roxas screamed over the loud screech.

Before anyone could answer, the doors that led into one of the train tracks were suddenly blown from their hinges. A train sped through the tracks before crashing against one of the room's walls. Pieces of the wall sailed through the air, crashing in the ground and taking down benches and shops alike.

"What the hell is going on…" Roxas yelled in pure shock, watching the destruction the train had caused. Next to him, Xion broke into a determined expression before jogging over to the train. "What are you doing?" he called out with fear on his voice.

"I'm going to help out. There might be people there!" Xion ran over to one of the doors and reached for its handle. She tried to pull open the door but stepped back when hearing something slam against the door. She leaned on the door with a determined expression, "Don't worry, I'll get you out of there! Just hang on!"

Before she could attempt to open the door, a hand suddenly broke through it, completely shocking the girl. Xion stared at the hand, it was nothing but a bloody mess with bones sticking out in different places. A bit of the crimson liquid stained her shirt as she stood there in pure shock, what the hell was the person thinking? Xion screamed in fear as more hands broke through the door, blood splattering everywhere.

"Xion!" Roxas called out as he ran towards her with a worried look on his face. He pulled her away from the scene just as the people finally broke through the door.

People dragged themselves out of the train, their clothes stained with dark crimson blood and deep black spots around their skin. The 'people' turned their attention to the two teens before dragging themselves towards them, uttering grunts as they grew closer.

"Let's get out of here!" Xion exclaimed before running towards the station's door. Roxas followed after her, panting heavily from pure fear. As they grew closer to the door, the ticket windows were suddenly shattered as bloodied people jumped out of them, their piercing yellow eyes glaring into theirs. The two teens stopped dead on their tracks, not knowing where to go.

"Over here!" a feminine voice called out. The two teens turned to see Namine standing near the tracks. Not having any more options they ran up to her with several people following after them. "Let's take the tracks to get out of here," Namine explained in a hurried voice.

"Let's go," Xion ordered as the three dropped down to the tracks. They quickly ran for their way out, careful not to trip over any rubble the train had left. Behind them people fell head first on the tracks with sickening snaps.

They ran out of the station with a few people following after them, most of the others snapping their necks when falling down the train tracks. The three didn't know where they were going, they only knew that anywhere would be safer than the station.

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><p>Xion frowned as she and her two companions, Roxas and Namine, approached the next train station. It was now dark, the only light coming from the moon's glow accompanied by the many stars filling the sky. The darkness that came with night would make things a lot more dangerous, it there were more of those 'people' in the next station then they would need to be extra careful.<p>

The three teens stopped on their tracks as they gazed at the large building standing in front of them. This was the largest of the train stations, the one that held the famed clock tower of Twilight Town. There were no lights coming from the buildings and not a single sound was heard. A cold wind washed over them, picking up a few leaves and rustling the grass. It was completely quiet.

"What now?" Roxas asked, his hands shaking slightly. He pointed at the train station as a drop of sweat trailed down his forehead, "There's no light coming from the buildings. Even the lights of the station aren't turned on. Whatever happened on the other station happened here too. There's no place to go now!"

Xion watched Namine lower her gaze with teary eyes while Roxas simply stood there looking distressed. She knew it was to be expected, considering the situation, but it was the last thing they needed now. If they panicked then they were as good as dead. Her eyes hardened as she gazed at the train station. If her companions weren't going to be strong then she would need to be strong for them.

"I'll go check it out," she decided with her fists clenched.

"What!" was the reply from the two blonds.

Roxas took hold of Xion's shoulders and glared. "What the hell are you thinking?" his friend simply looked at him blankly, "You can't just go there! It's too dangerous!"

"He's right," Namine agreed with a frown of her own, "Going in alone is suicide."

Xion met Roxas' eyes, blue meeting blue. "I have to do this," she insisted, wincing slightly as the grip on her shoulders tightened, "It hurts Roxas."

"S-sorry…" Roxas let out in a concerned tone, taking his hands away.

Xion crossed her arms and smiled slightly. "Don't worry Roxas, I'll be alright," she explained, "This is the train station where I work. I know the place inside out. There's also a place where I know none of those things could enter, I'll go check out the station and call you if I don't see any of those things. We should be able to rest there."

Roxas and Namine looked at Xion in worry, not sure if they should just let her go. The black-haired teen nodded at the two before beginning to walk away. She needed to do this for them, all of them were tired and it would be for the best if they found a place to sleep.

Xion bit her lip as she approached one of the station's entrances. She placed a hand on the glass door, the material cold against her skin. Her heartbeat rose as she gazed at the dark inside of the station. The girl let out a soft sigh as her eyes grew determined, she needed to do this.

"Wait up!" Roxas yelled as he ran after Xion.

"R-Roxas?" Xion let out in disbelief.

"I'm coming too!" Namine declared as she approached the two teens with a small smile. "We need to stay together at times like this," she paused, a light blush gracing her cheeks, "I might not have talked to you in school but now it's different. I want us to become friends that look after each other."

"Right," Roxas nodded with a grin.

Xion smiled as she gazed at her companions, "Let's go then."

The three teens nodded at each other as Xion pushed the door open, nothing but darkness greeting them.

"Do you guys see anything?" Roxas whispered as his eyes darted around the area, trying to see something inside the dark lobby.

"No… nothing," Namine whispered back, keeping her hands extended out in front of her to avoid bumping into something or someone.

Xion kept her hands on one of the lobby's walls as she walked. Having worked at the place for close to a year had given her a clear map of the place, even if it was dark she could find her way around. She let out a short gasp when finally finding what she was looking for, the cool metal of a doorknob. She opened the door and walked into the room, digging into one of the pockets on her school jacket and taking out a set of keys.

The dark-haired girl extended her hands as she walked, finding the firm surface of a wall. She trailed her fingers through the wall until finally finding the keyhole she had been looking for. A smile graced her face as she inserted the key into it and turned.

The station came to life as lights in the lobby went on. Roxas and Namine shielded their eyes from the unexpected light, while Xion let out a sigh of relief from inside the small office she had entered. The dark-haired girl smiled before leaving the office, walking over to her friends.

"This place is amazing," Namine smiled in awe, her eyes sparkling as she took in the beauty of the lobby.

The lobby had a few trains stationed on a far gate, the walls were made of tan bricks, decorated with paintings of views of the town and fields. There were many windows around the lobby with a clear view of several parts of the town. Nobody took the time to take in its beauty since it was always crowded but now that it was empty, the spacious lobby was simply stunning.

"I know," Xion agreed with a smile as she gazed around the room, "That's why I really like working here."

"You never told me you worked here?" Roxas pointed out with a mock glare.

Xion chuckled. "You never asked. I've worked her for around a year... you're just dumb Roxas," she teased. The three teens busted into a fit of laughter, not really knowing why but appreciating the lighter mood. "Now let's get going," she ordered as she walked back into the small office.

Both blondes followed after her, entering the small room. It had a few desks here and there, with a few bookshelves placed against the walls. Finally there was a wooden ladder against one of the walls, leading into a hole in the ceiling.

"This is it," Xion announced with a smile, standing in front of the ladder. Both teens looked at her oddly, making her sigh before continuing, "This leads to the top of the clock tower. It will be a pain to climb all the way up but I'm sure none of those things will be up there. There's also a lot of room for us to sleep in. It's perfect."

Before anyone could argue Xion was already going up the ladder. Roxas watched her go up the ladder and blushed when catching a glimpse of white from inside her skirt.

"Are you guys coming?" she asked from the ladder.

"Y-yeah!" Roxas yelped as he snapped her head to the side, not realizing that he had been staring.

Namine looked at him oddly before climbing after Xion, Roxas following behind them with a bright blush.

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><p>"Here we are," Xion declared with a small smile, Roxas and Namine looking at the place in awe.<p>

After going up countless amounts of steps they had finally reached a large room. It had wooden floors, white brick walls, large gears on the area above them and finally a large open space on the wall with a clear view of town. The moonlight shining in the room gave them enough light to make out the place.

"This place is amazing," Roxas smiled as he walked over to the open space. He found a walkway on the outside of the room, it had a clear view of town. He had never been the kind of person to appreciate views, but he had to admit that it was breathtaking. The sky filled with stars, the large full moon lighting up the town and giving it an unearthly glow, he didn't have any words to describe just how amazing it was. He turned back to his companions, "I'm gonna be outside for a little bit." He could use a distraction.

Xion chuckled when she saw him leave. She could relate, the first time she had been to this particular room she had gone out to the walkway to admire the view. In fact, most of the people that had gotten up to the room ended up doing the same thing.

"Um, Xion..?" Namine called a little timidly. Xion turned to the girl, cocking her head to the side in a show of confusion. The blonde teen let out a short breath and composed herself, "I'm not sure of what we're going to do but I'd like to ask for your help." The black-haired teen gave Namine her full attention, wondering what she would ask at a time like this.

Xion studied the blonde, by the way her eyes seemed to shimmer, she was either worried or upset. She assumed it was the latter since they hadn't done anything against her, she had even called them friends a few minutes before, so what could have her so shaken?

"What do you need?" Xion asked, her blue eyes calculating.

"I wanted you to take me home to my family," Namine answered in complete seriousness. She had been easygoing on their way to the station but now that they could actually afford to settle down, she could voice her concerns. Who cared if their families needed help. Her family came first.

Xion frowned. Both teens staring blankly at each other in complete silence. The air grew tense between them. Xion, for one, didn't really think that it was fair to check on Namine's family first. There was nothing that made her family more important but she could say the same about her own and Roxas'. It wouldn't be fair in any way, she would need to come up with a fair way to go about the situation. She was the thing holding them together and she would make sure to keep things civil.

"Where do you live?" Xion asked after the long silence.

Namine's eyes widened slightly before letting out a short sigh, "I live about five blocks away from here. That's why I was going to take the train earlier."

"I see," Xion nodded, turning her back on the blonde. "Roxas and I live all the way to the next station," she explained, turning to Namine and narrowing her eyes, "If we took you home, would you help us get to ours?"

"Yeah," Namine answered with a nod, "My family does well so we have an extra car. If I can't go with you then I'll make sure to give you the other car."

Xion crossed her arms and closed her eyes, sighing in irritation. Namine watched the girl with a worried frown, she might have sounded selfish but family came first. The blonde's eyebrows rose when Xion suddenly smiled and placed both hands on her hips, what kind of reaction was that?

"It's settled then," Xion announced with an exited smile. "We will take you home first since you're house is a lot closer," she nodded at herself before her head suddenly perked up, "That's right. We have to tell Roxas about this."

"We do," Namine agreed.

"Then go tell him," Xion ordered, pushing Namine towards the way out of the large room.

"W-what?" Namine muttered with a light blush.

Xion chuckled slightly. "Tell him about this. Don't worry, he won't be mad or anything. In fact, I think that he'll just be happy to help out," she assured, "So just go."

Namine pouted, crossing her arms. "But I don't know him that well," she argued, the blush on her cheeks deepening, "It's not like I didn't want to get to know him. But he never talked to me. What makes you think that he'll do that now?"

"Just trust me on this," Xion responded with a small smile, "Roxas is a good guy. He doesn't treat anyone badly and he's the most polite person I ever met. Just go tell him. Talk about other things if you want."

She added the last part with a wink, making Namine blush.

"F-fine," Namine agreed as she began to walk out of the room, the blush never leaving her face. She stopped on the way out and took a glance at Xion. "Thanks," she muttered, walking out of the room.

Xion watched Namine leave with a small smile, her gaze falling to the wooden floor. She closed her eyes as she called back fond memories.

_Xion walked through the school's hallways, her face showing no emotion. It was a defense mechanism, she didn't want to get to know anyone. If she did then she would only wind up getting hurt. _

_She suddenly bumped into someone, letting out a gasp as she fell to the floor. A groan escaped her lips as she looked at her aggressor, glaring at the idiot that had knocked her down. _

_Her eyes widened when seeing a blond teen looking at her in pure shock, his blue eyes showing nothing but worry and guilt. _

"_Oh man! I'm so sorry!" the teen exclaimed as he extended a hand at Xion._

_Xion looked at the hand in confusion, why was a stranger acting like this? Usually when stuff like this happened, people would call her clumsy or just walk away, but this guy had looked sincerely sorry. _

"_Sorry about that," he repeated once more. He smiled, "My name's Roxas. Again, sorry about that."_

"_I-it's okay," Xion muttered, a blush forming on her face. Her heartbeat rose as she took Roxas' hand, it felt warm against her own, "I'm Xion."_

It was all she had now. The world she had known was slipping away and all she had was Roxas. He had been one of the few people that she opened up to. It was because of him that she was able to lead them safely. Things would get harder from now on, she knew so.

Xion sat against the room's wall and crossed her arms, closing her eyes in relaxation. _'Tomorrow we'll get Namine home,' _she told herself, letting out a yawn. Her gaze turned to the large open space on the wall, her heartbeat raising. She wondered if her plan had worked, if maybe Roxas and Namine had connected.

_'What it..?' _she stopped herself mid-thought, feeling the usual hollow feeling on her chest. Xion bit her lip, thought like these wouldn't do her any good. They always left her feeling depressed and alone, knowing that thinking much about it would only bring her pain.

She settled for smiling and turning her gaze to the star-filled sky, _'God luck, Roxas.'_

**Ch.4 End**

**That's the chapter guys. I will be able to update this story once every two weeks. It's not much but I'm busy with other stories, so sorry :( **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter, remember to leave any questions if you have any. **


	5. A Place Once Called Home

**Here's the next chapter guys. Sorry for taking so long to update but I'm focusing in another story right now, not to worry though since I'm almost done with it. Anyway I'll start putting 'Sora's Group' and 'Roxas' Group' before the chapter in order to make it easier for you guys. **

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts<strong>

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><p><strong>Kingdom Hearts: Race to the Keyhole<strong>

_**Roxas' Group**_

**Ch.5 A Place Once Called Home**

The sun rose on the quiet streets of Twilight Town. Its rays shining upon the room where Xion, Roxas and Namine slept peacefully, despite the situation they were in. Xion sat against one of the walls with her arms crossed, letting out a quiet snore every now and then. Roxas was plopped down on the ground with his arms and legs wide open, letting out loud snores. Finally Namine laid down in a corner, using her hands as pillows and breathing quietly.

Xion was the first to wake up, she stretched her arms before letting out a yawn. She felt a bit of dread at waking up in the Clock Tower since it meant that the last day's events had been real and not a horrifying nightmare. A sigh escaped her lips and she stood up and walked over to the edge of the room, admiring the view. Her eyes lingered on the quiet town underneath her, wondering just how much had changed in the last day.

Right now the biggest change was the complete and utter silence. Every morning in Twilight Town was loud, be it the sound of people talking, the sound of cars, or the very familiar train whistle. Everything was quiet now and she hated it. It meant that there were no people to make noise. She didn't know if they were hiding or hurt but she hoped her family was okay.

"Xion…" she heard someone muttered sleepily. Xion turned her head to the side to see Roxas walking towards her, scratching his right eye and letting out a yawn, "How long were we out?"

Xion shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea," she switched her gaze to the sky, noticing the sun peeking out in the horizon, "Judging by where the sun is, it's early."

Roxas frowned as he crossed his arms, "None of it was a dream, right?"

"No," she replied with her gaze on the town.

"What do we do now?" he asked in a desperate tone.

The dark-haired teen looked at the town beneath her with a hardened gaze. "First, we need to get Namine back home," she stated, catching the odd look Roxas sent her, "Since her house is the closest, we can just drop her off. We talked this over yesterday and she said that she would get us a car if we made it there."

"I see…" Roxas muttered with a scowl, turning to Xion, "Do you think we can make it there?"

"Not with that attitude," she joked but it did little to ease the mood. "Joking aside, I have no idea," she admitted, "We can only hope we make it to Namine's house. If we get there then we'll have a car to move around."

"When are we leaving?" Roxas turned back to the room, seeing that Namine was still asleep.

"As soon as she wakes up," Xion deadpanned, "We've already stayed her too long"

The blond teen nodded, "Alright then."

* * *

><p>The glass door of the train station opened slowly, Roxas' head peeking out. The teen looked around the area, letting out a sigh of relief when not seeing any more of those things.<p>

"There's nothing out here," he muttered as he stepped out of the station.

Xion was first to follow with Namine walking behind her, looking around the area in a nervous manner.

"Are you sure there's nothing here?" Namine asked fearfully.

"There doesn't seem to be anything here," Xion replied, walking to the station's plaza casually.

It wasn't until now that Roxas took note of something in Xion's hand. "Wait a minute," he furrowed his brows, eyeing the metal pipe held on Xion's hand, "When did you get that?"

Xion smiled. "I got it inside," she responded, twirling the pipe on her hand, "I didn't see any others in there so you're out of luck."

"What are you talking about?" Roxas frowned, "How come you get a weapon and we don't!"

Xion looked at Roxas with a frown on her face. She didn't understand why he was getting so worked up. They couldn't afford to stay in the station any longer, it would be too dangerous. There had been only one metal pipe and she picked it for, what she believed, were obvious reasons.

"Listen Roxas," she began, throwing a glance at Namine, "You too Namine." The dark-haired teen paused before her eyes hardened, "Right now, I'm the only one who's doing anything. I'm the only one keeping a cool head so I think that I should get the weapon."

Roxas clenched his fist, not liking what Xion was insinuating. Before he could retort, he felt a hand grasp his.

"It's okay," Namine assured with a smile, noticing the blush on Roxas' cheek and the light twitch on Xion's hand. "We just have to prove ourselves," a blush adorned her cheeks as she let out a giggle, "Let's do our best Roxas."

The blond found it hard to make out a word, far too flustered by how adorable Namine looked. Xion, on the other hand, gave Namine an odd look, wondering what she was trying to do. The smile seemed a bit fake but, turning to the downhill road at the end of the plaza, she realized that she had bigger things to worry about.

"Let's get going then," Xion ordered as she began to walk away, her two companions on her side in an instant. She gripped the metal bar tightly as they neared the hill. There was always the possibility that she was being paranoid but how could she in a situation like this? The teenage girl kept her gaze on their surroundings just in case another one of those things popped up.

* * *

><p>The sound of footsteps echoed through the quiet and deserted streets of Twilight Town. Xion, Roxas, and Namine walked along the market district. Shops that had been filled with people and angry merchants were now dead with silence, it brought a feeling of uneasiness to the three teens though Xion tried to push it away.<p>

Xion had made herself the 'leader' of the group since she believed to be the only one capable at the moment. This had also been the reason for her being the only one carrying a weapon, the others would only end up hurting themselves in their current state. Xion was an observer, she would always watch those around them quietly and had the ability to see past their usual masks.

Nobody was honest, she had learned that long ago. Her two companions for example. Though they put up what they believed to be brave faces, she knew better than to think they were alright. She herself was shaken about the whole ordeal but, throwing a glance at the two blondes trailing along, she could tell that they were scared out of their wits. She guessed it was true that people were calmer when surrounded by people who were afraid.

"Only a few more blocks," Namine snapped Xion out of her thoughts, her voice carrying its usual sweetness.

"Alright," Xion replied, turning back to the road ahead with a frown on her face. Whatever Namine was doing was getting on her nerves. Surprisingly enough she was unable to fully read the blonde. It was as if she was used to lying or acting a certain way.

The sudden sound of breaking glass caught the attention of the teens, all of them snapping their heads towards one of the shops. On first glance there was nothing wrong since the dark interior of the shop kept everything from view but they knew better.

"What was that?" Roxas whispered harshly.

The three teens remained motionless, keeping their eyes on the broken window. Xion gripped her iron pipe, if any of those things came out she would be ready.

Namine took a step forward, kicking a discarded can by accident. "S-sorry!" she yelped.

In an instant a corpse jumped out of the window. The body was big, clearly belonging to one of those muscle-head types. The hulking corpse covered in darkness glared its yellow eyes at the three teens, lowering into a crouch and letting out a growl.

Xion stepped in front of her two friends with her pipe on hand. "Find some kind of shelter," she said without turning around, "I'll catch up later."

"Are you out of your mind?" Roxas all but spoke, his eyes wide in evident shock. He could feel his fists shake in anger or fear, he didn't know which. For some reason Xion kept on trying to act like a hero, just what the hell was she thinking?

"Roxas I have to-"

"No!" he interrupted his fists clenched, "We'll help you!" He turned to the corpse watching as it squirmed, letting out a growl. It began to move, taking short slow steps as if not to startle them. Roxas took an involuntary step back, missing the light frown on Xion's face.

"Leave now," Xion spoke on a sharp voice.

Namine looked at Roxas in worry, his mouth was agape while his face was red in anger. She could understand why he was like that but, looking at the nearing monster, she concluded that it wasn't the time nor place for such drama. She had to get away before that thing killed her.

"R-Roxas," she called the blond in obvious nervousness. Said teen turned to her, worry and confusion on his face. The girl took a quick breath before smiling apologetically, "S-she made up her mind. We should leave her."

"B-but-"

"Listen to her Roxas," Xion muttered as she bent her knees slightly, putting her pipe to her right side. "You have to get to Namine's home, it'll be safe," she turned to her friend with a determined smile on her face, "You can trust me on this Roxas. I'll be back with you before you know it."

Roxas let out a growl before nodding. He took Namine's hand and began to run away, not daring turning back since he knew that if he did, he would just go back to Xion.

The corpse let out a roar as it broke into a run, aiming for the teenage girl with the small frame. It pounced at the teen before being struck in the face by the metal pipe she carried. The 'man' let out a hiss of pain before receiving another blow on its side.

Xion brought her pipe back before striking its ankles, knocking it off its feet. The creature fell on the ground, letting out a growl of pain. Taking her chance, Xion ran away from the creature, heading the opposite direction of her friends. Running into them with that thing in pursuit would be a bad idea.

She threw a glance at the creature, her eyes widening when it began its chase. Xion quickly turned a corner and ran up a set up stairs, she had to make it out alive at all costs.

* * *

><p>Roxas and Namine ran through the streets of Twilight Town, now a good distance away from the sudden attack. The two came to a halt, letting out pants as they rested their hands on their knees.<p>

"D-do you think… we'll be safe here?" Namine panted with her cheeks flushed.

Roxas let out a short breath before nodding. "Y-yeah," he let out. He glanced around the area, taking in his surroundings. They were on a normal neighborhood street. The floor was made up of orange brick while the homes were painted white. He turned to Namine with a small frown, "Where are we?"

"We're near my home," she responded, her frame relaxing slightly, "It shouldn't take more than a few blocks to get there!"

"Let's go then."

The two teens continued to run through the streets. Now that they were close the best course of action, in their opinion, would be to run the rest of the way there. Namine kept a look of relief on her face while Roxas kept on throwing glances over his shoulder, hoping to catch sign of Xion.

* * *

><p>Said girl ran through the streets of Twilight Town with a pipe on hand and a horde of those 'thing' chasing after her. Her legs ached and her chest hurt but she had to keep going, she wouldn't allow herself to die here.<p>

An upcoming fence caught Xion's attention. It was a large local pool that she had gone to only a few times. She had never been once to go swimming but now the place seemed sacred. As she neared the pool she took note of the various footsteps behind her, she would need to close the place quick. From where she was, she could see that the door to the pool was wide open with a chain wrapped around the edge of the door.

Xion stopped on her tracks, turning at the same time with her pipe gripped tightly on her hands. The pipe struck one of them on the head, earning a screech of pain. She resumed her run and got through the door, quickly making sure to lock it before any of them got in.

She struggled with the lock before finally shutting it in place, locking herself away from the 'things.' "That was close…" she muttered, watching as they crashed against the fence. Some tried to claw at her but she was too out of reach, "What the hell do I do now?"

It was her alone in a public pool surrounded by crazed man-eating people. Ignoring the thrashing from the corpses trying to get in, she took a minute to study her surroundings.

Everything, aside from the 'things' was quiet. There were discarded towels and pieces of clothing here and there but, other than that, there was no sign of anything there. She took a step forward, her pipe hitting against the ground lightly. The teen sat on one of the many chairs around the pool, wondering what her next move would be.

She was trapped unless she thought of something or was struck by a sudden case of good luck. She froze when she heard the sound of grass breaking. Xion snapped her head to the side, watching in wide-eyes as a group of corpses dragged themselves out of a small office in the corner of the pool.

Xion was on her feet in an instant, her mind going through various means to get out of the situation. _'Come on, think of something!' _she went over everything she knew, unconsciously taking a few step backs. She suddenly bumped into one of the chairs, knocking a glass of water onto the ground.

The sound of the breaking glass caught the attention of all the 'things.' Xion took note of this with a look of understanding, _'They follow sounds. That means that they can't see!'_

She ran to the other side of the pool, her footsteps making the group of corpses speed up their pace. "I'm over here!" she exclaimed as she hit her pipe against the ground. They screeched before breaking into a run, unknowingly falling into the pool. Xion continued to hit the ground as they walked underwater.

They seemed to trash about with their mouths open, apparently needing to breath, before finally relaxing their postures and floating to the surface, now without movement.

'_Are they dead?' _Xion asked herself, looking at the floating corpses. She looked at them for a few moments before letting out a sigh of relief, they needed oxygen as much as they did. Not only that, but they were blind and stupid. With this new information things would be easier.

"Now…" she muttered, looking at the area around her.

Corpses screeched from outside the fence, all of them trying to claw at anything that came close. The numbers just seemed to grow with none of them leaving the area.

"What do I do?"

**Ch. 5 End**

**That will be it for this chapter guys. Like I said before, right now I'm focusing in another story but once I get it done, I'll focus on this once more. Also, there's no definite length to the chapters meaning that some will be short (like this one) or long depending on the situation.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter, remember to leave any question if you have any. **


	6. Hope?

**Sorry for the long wait but I've been busy with my other stories. I'll try to update this one more often.**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Kingdom Hearts: Race to the Keyhole<strong>

_**Sora's Group**_

**Ch.6 Hope?**

Sora's nose scrunched up as he, along with Riku and Kairi, walked through the sewers. He was starting to get used to the smell but it did nothing to make it less repugnant. The smell alone was starting to give him a headache that only worsened his mood. The other two teens occasionally throwing him looks or attempting to start a conversation didn't help his mood either.

It was a bit ironic that the people he had avoided the most ended up being one of the only to come out of that school in one piece. Not to mention that they somehow ended up together, making him wonder if he should have left them behind instead of acting on impulse and taking them along with him.

"Do you have any idea of where we are?" Riku's voice echoed in the empty sewers. A bit of frustration could be heard on his voice which was to be expected since no sane person would be okay with spending such a long time in such a place.

The silver haired teen didn't know how long it had been since they escaped school but it felt like hours because of his bad mood. The walking he didn't mind but what he did mind was the horrible smell that forced him to hold his breath or cover his nose constantly. His patience was running out and his annoyance was starting to show.

"Just shut up and wait," Sora growled without looking back, making Riku clench his fists and glare at his back.

Kairi looked worriedly between the two teens, hoping that they would stop before things got out of hand. She didn't say anything since she thought that maybe Sora would only lash out at her. The thought made her look at Sora sadly.

It was odd to be with this new Sora. He used to be a happy person that would always be there for his friends no matter what. She remembered trying to get a look of his bright blue eyes that would hold a warmth that she loved to see. But no he was cold and rude to them. His blue eyes were cold, their warmth gone. She hated this, she wanted him to go back to normal. Back to when his eyes held warmth.

Now she couldn't bring herself to look at his eyes. Just doing so served to remind her of how much he changed and she hated it.

"There," Sora spoke up, breaking Kairi out of her thoughts. He pointed a finger to one of the walls, this one having a steel latter and a bit of light sneaking through the ceiling.

"We should be far from school now," he continued as he handed the bat he carried to Riku. The latter took it in hand as Sora climbed up the latter before looking back at them with a frown, "Wait here until I give the okay."

He moved up the ladder, stopping once he stood directly under the metal plate that led into the streets. Once making sure he wouldn't fall, he placed both hands on the place and pushed, light instantly entering dark sewers.

Sora hissed as the light hit his eyes but didn't stop pushing until the plate was finally out of the way. With his hands now free, he quickly rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly to get used to the light. Once that was done, he scanned the area in which they had end up.

He was near the beach, that much he knew from the cool breeze hitting his skin. The streets were empty, only having a few abandoned cars and damaged buildings. A few apartment complexes were visible from where he was but they were deathly quiet.

_'No sign of those things,' _Sora mused before climbing out and taking a few steps forwards. The cool breeze hit his body again, making him sigh contently and close his eyes as he took in a deep breath.

"There's nothing out here."

Hearing Riku's voice, Sora glanced over his shoulder to see him and Kairi climbing onto the streets. The latter looked around worriedly just to make sure that there were really no corpses around.

"Didn't I tell you to wait for me?" Sora asked with a frown, making Kairi flinch slightly at his tone.

Riku stepped in front of Kairi, narrowing his eyes at Sora, "It's safe here so stop yelling at her. Why are you being so hostile?"

The brunette scoffed as he walked over to Riku and snatched the bat out of his hands. "You can always leave," he turned his back on the two, "If you want to end up dead that's fine by me and trust me..." he turned back to Riku with a smirk on his face, gripping the bat tightly, "You haven't seen hostile yet."

"W-Where are we going now?" Kairi broke in, trying to ease the tension between the two while telling Sora that they would still go with him.

"Axel's," Sora replied before beginning to walk with Kairi and Riku quickly following after him. "It's a bit far from here but I know the way... at least I think so," he muttered the last part.

Worry washed over Riku's face after hearing what Sora said, "Then what about our families? We have to go to them."

"He's right, we can't leave them alone," Kairi agreed.

_'She's on his side of course...' _he thought bitterly as he rested the bat on his shoulder. "Alright, since you two already forgot I guess I'll have to remind you," he raised the bat and pointed it at the area ahead, "We're going to Axel's first. Why? Well, because he has a car... Do you know what a car is? it's a machine. A machine that transports people to-"

"We get it," Riku interrupted with a deep frown. Who did Sora think he was? He had no right to talk to them like that. Just because he was pissed and possibly scared, it didn't mean that he could talk to them as if they were idiots.

Sora let out a gasp, taking a few steps back and looking at him through wide eyes. "You get it?" he let out in mock disbelief, "Wow! I thought for sure it would take longer for you to understand."

"Let's just go," Kairi broke in again as she moved to stand between the two teens that glared at each other, "Please, we're in a difficult situation. The last thing we should do is fight."

The brunette said nothing, instead he turned back to the road ahead, eyes wary for any sort of movement before he began to walk. With the sounds of footsteps behind him, he knew that his companions were following despite how he acted.

Sure he had overreacted but he needed to fix the wall between them since it had started to crumble. If he treated them bad then they would surely leave him alone one they got to their families.

At least, he hoped so.

* * *

><p>The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Save for a few words there had been nothing else. Only the sound of their steps could be heard on the deserted streets that had once been filled with life. It made Sora uneasy. Made him think that the dead were just waiting for the right moment to come out.<p>

Of course, there was always the chance that those things hadn't made it to this particular area but he knew better. The absence of people alone, was enough to tell him that and more. He wouldn't. No. _Couldn't _let his guard down.

He was driven out of those thoughts when he noticed what stood before him. A smile formed on his face as he looked at the familiar building up ahead, an old apartment complex. It was three stories tall and had dull grey walls. He could see a few cars on the parking lot which was really all that remained in there.

Still, his smile didn't falter. Things were bad but, at least, they had made it. There was still a bit of hope left.

"We're here," he told the others, not hiding the relief on his voice. Riku and Kairi visually relax after hearing the news, glad to finally be able to take a break. "Axel's room is on the third floor," he continued as they began to walk to the buildings, passing by a gate and reaching a set of stairs without problem, "Keep it quiet though, there could be more of those things here."

"Right!" The two responded in union.

Sora rolled his eyes at the clear irony as he went up the stairs. Besides the fact that they had just disregarded his orders, he remained glad. Glad to finally get rid of them. After he and Axel took them home, he planned on just leaving Destiny Islands.

The idea of going to see his family in Twilight Town crossed his mind but, noticing that he and the other two had just made it to the third floor, he dismissed the thought.

"So, which apartment is it?" Kairi whispered to Sora as she looked at the empty hallway warily.

Sora chuckled to himself. "Just guess which is his," he spoke in amusement, "I'm sure it's the easiest to spot."

The redhead looked back at the hallway's door and instantly knew which apartment was his. A lot of people knew Axel or at least heard of him, so seeing a bright red door in the midst of dull grey ones, it was clear which apartment was his.

Sora approached the red door as he dug into one of his pockets before taking out a key. He quickly inserted it and opened the door. It creaked loudly as Sora peeked into the familiar apartment before entering through hesitant steps with Riku and Kairi following after him, their faces showing shock.

"Did they get in here?" Kairi whispered to the others as she looked around the place. Pieces of furniture were scattered on the grounds, tons of cans filled the floor and many stains could be seen on the walls.

Riku nodded with a grim look on his face, "It looks like it."

Sora rolled his eyes as he put the bat down. "Calm down. This is how the place usually is," he waved them off before walking over to a cough with its back to them. The two teens could only watch in confusion as Sora kicked the sofa before a thump was heard, "Get up you idiot!"

"Dammit Sora. I told you not to wake me up like that..." Axel emerged from the other side of the couch, rubbing the back of his head with his face showing a bit of pain. He glanced at the people in his apartment though half-lidded eyes and turned to Sora in confusion, "Are they you're buddies again?"

The teen in question narrowed his eyes at the teason tone. "I still don't want anything to do with people like this. But that's not important right now. Have you seen what happened?"

"What are you talking about?"

Sora walked over to a set of curtains covering a sliding door and pulled them away, giving Axel a view of the town, "This is what I'm talking about."

Axel's eyes went wide, seeing th eplace deserted and having several clouds of smoke coming from different area. It looked like the place had just gone through a war.

"Don't tell me..." he began with a shocked expression on his face. Sora, Riku and Kairi looked away, knowing what he was about to say. "There was some fight between superheroes."

The three teens facefaulted.

"Of course not!" Sora exclaimed angrily as he motioned at the town, "Some... _things_, came out of nowhere and started to wreck the place. They can take over people and use them to grow their numbers. We're not sure how far they've gotten but at least we managed to get here in one piece."

"Whoa..." Axel grinned, "Like a zombie apocalypse type deal?"

Riku slapped a hand to his forehead, "Don't tell me this is the guy that'll be taking us home?"

"Don't worry about it old-young guy. This sounds really interesting," Axel wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulders as he grinned at the other two teens, "Besides, this guy here had been in a lot of fights. Together with your old guy hair and her... her red hair, pretty cool by the way, we make the perfect team."

"R-Right," Kairi smiled awkwardly while panicking in the inside. Axel was not to be trusted. He was too much of a wild card and it looked like all the rumors about him were trues. 'An eccentric guy that doesn't knwo when to shut up' seemed to described him perfectly.

"Just let me go get my keys," he spoke before leaving the living room and disappearing into one of the doors in a small hallway on the side.

Immediately after he left, Riku snapped his head towards Sora, giving him a stern look, "Do you really think someone like that will get us home?"

"Riku's right," Kairi agreed, not noticing the way Sora's eyes narrowed at the comment, "He's not even taking this situation seriously. People like him only mess things up and-"

"Shut up already!" Sora yelled out in rage, making the other two teens gasp in shock. He glared at them, hands balling into fists as he fought down the urge to do something he'd regret, "What gives you the right to talk about other people like that? Do you think you're better than people like us? Right now _'people like him' _are going out of their way to help your ungrateful asses so the least you could do it shut up!"

The apartment went quiet after that. None of the teens int he living room wanting to be the first to talk. Tensions were high and insulting Axel had been the thing to set Sora off, pent up anger, fear and uncertainty coming out at once int he form of fear. Kairi could only look at Sora, feeling as if this was a complete stranger. Someone that didn't see them as friends anymore.

"Yo! I'm back, everybody okay here?" Axel emerged from the room he had entered with a grin on his face and a set of keys on his right hand. He noticed the heavy atmosphere upon entering the room and could only look around in confusion, "Um... what happened here?"

"Nothing," Sora responded with a shake of his head.

* * *

><p>"Ain't she a beauty?"<p>

Riku and Kairi only looked at Axel incredulously before glancing back at the car he so proudly presented. It was old, that much was obvious, and lacked the company's logo which left a light red mark on the dull red car. It sported a few dents on the sides and the whole thing screamed, 'danger' to anyone.

But, seeings as how they didn't have the luxury of finding any other means of transportation, they were stuck with Axel's old sports car.

Sora, having seen the way th etwo teens looked at the car, let out a sigh before scratching his head, "Just get in. It runs fine."

Axel smiled at his car before entering through the passenger's door while Sora took the sit next to his. Riku and Kairi broke out of their trance and entered the car as well though Kairi had a bit of a hard time opening the door.

"Just pull it up as you open it."

She did as instructed and, after struggling at first, she managed to open it but she quickly wished she didn't. The inside of the car was just as dirty as his apartment, filled with discarded beer cans and cigarette butts, not to mention the smell of smoke it gave off.

With a displeased look on her face and knowing that she didn't have much of a choice, Kairi entered the car.

"Good, we can finally go!" Axel cheered from the front before starting the car with a loud 'bang.'

The two teens in the backseat gulped as the car suddenly moved backwards, turning with the momentum and coming to a stop with a screech from the wheels. The redheaded driver then pulled on the shift stick and drove the car forward, making the two teens jerk forward.

"So where are we going?" Axel asked.

A screech from the tires followed his question as he drove out of the apartment complex and into the streets.

"We're going to their houses. I don't know whose first but for now just go North, I think that's where they live," Sora instructed.

Axel nodded as he turned a corner, eyes instantly widening before he hit the brakes, making the three teens jerk forwards and, in Riku's case, hitting his head against Axel's seat.

"Whoa!" Axel grinned when seeing just what was in front of the car. Corpses. They dragged themselves across the streets, some wearing swimsuits while others had normal clothing. Their bodies were mostly covered in darkness which was completely new to all of them. "This is what you were talking about? Freaking awesome!"

"Are you insane?" Riku let out in shock.

The redheaded driver said nothing as he turned on the radio, music instantly blasting through the speakers and gaining the attention of the corpses up ahead. Axel smirked as the corpses moved for the car and Sora instantly knew that it wouldn't end well. In all of his time of knowing Axel, one thing was for certain. That smirk meant trouble.

"Axel..." The three teens let out in fear as the redheaded driver chuckled.

"Let's go!" He screamed over the music as he hit the gas, the car quickly shootings towards the incoming corpses with no sign of stopping.

The three teens could only look in terror as the car drove over the corpses and knocking some aside as if they were nothing. Thankfully there weren't too many since a large number could probably slow the car down.

"AAAHHH!" Riku and Kairi screamed as Axel drove through the corpses while laughing like a maniac, making Sora question his friend's sanity.

After what seemed like hours, the car finally made it out of the small crowd of corpses with Axel still grinning like a maniac, "That was great!"

The two teens in the backseat shook in fear while gripping their seats tightly and uttering things under their breaths. Sora felt a bit of sympathy as he watched them. The first drive with Axel was always the hardest and this one had been more of a horrible experience than the others he had experience.

He shook his head before looking out the window. Bad idea. He was instantly stuck with a hollow feeling on his chest, watching the town in which he had grown up look so lifeless and ruined. He might act tough but of course he was scared, who wouldn't be?

"Driving through the deserted town~ Killing some zombie clowns~"

Sora scowled at the singing Axel, "Don't go off on another one of your singing sessions. That's the last thing we need right now."

"Is my voice that bad?"

"Mediocre at best," Sora responded with a frown as he motioned at the road ahead, "I just don't want you crashing again. Using the wheel as a drum set... who does that?"

Axel smirked, "That was one time."

"What are you talking about? What about the time you saw those two girls pass and-"

Sora and Axel continued their argument, unaware of the two teens in the backseat gripping their sits tighter. They knew Axel was a scary driver but, hearing Sora's accusations... they couldn't help but wonder if walking through zombie-infested streets had really been such a bad idea.

**Ch.6 End**

**And that's that. I'm going to be constantly changing the name of the 'zombies' depending on how the characters view them. **


End file.
